Historical Novels Review | Issue 92, May 2020 by The Historical Novel Society

H I S T O R IC A L

NOV EL S REVIEW

ISSUE 92

NOT JUST FOR KIDS The Graphic Novel & Historical Fiction More on page 8

MAY 2020

FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE ... A Mirror to the World History Fiction for Children & Young Adults Page 10

The Mercies of the Past Power & Punishment on the Island of Vardø Page 12

Taking Up a Challenge Herbert J. Stern and Alan A. Winter's Wolf Page 13

Evacuation Elisabeth Gifford's The Lost Lights of St Kilda Page 14

A World of Victorian Oddness Jess Kidd's Things in Jars Page 15

Historical Fiction Market News Page 1

New Voices Page 4

Ask the Agent Page 6

A publication of the Historical Novel Society | www.historicalnovelsociety.org

H I S T O R IC A L

NOV EL S REVIEW ISSN 1471-7492

PUBLISHER Richard Lee

Marine Cottage, The Strand, Starcross, Devon EX6 8NY UK <richard@historicalnovelsociety.org>

EDITORIAL BOARD

Managing Editor: Bethany Latham

Linda Sever

<LSever@uclan.ac.uk> Publisher Coverage: All UK children’s historicals

Karen Warren

<worldwidewriteruk@gmail.com> Publisher Coverage: Accent; Birlinn/Polygon; Bloomsbury; Duckworth Overlook; Faber & Faber; Granta; HarperCollins UK; Hamish Hamilton; Pan Macmillan; Penguin Random House UK (Michael Joseph, Penguin General, Penguin Press, and their imprints); Short Books; Simon & Schuster UK

REVIEWS EDITORS, USA Rebecca Cochran

<CochranR95@gmail.com> Publisher Coverage: Amazon Publishing; Hachette; Hyperion; Pegasus; and WW Norton

Bryan Dumas

<bryanpgdumas@gmail.com> Publisher Coverage: Algonquin; Kensington; Other Press; Overlook; Sourcebooks; Tyndale; and other US/Canadian small presses

Houston Cole Library, Jacksonville State University 700 Pelham Road North, Jacksonville, AL 36265-1602 USA <blatham@jsu.edu>

Sarah Hendess

Book Review Editor: Sarah Johnson

Xina Uhl

Booth Library, Eastern Illinois University, 600 Lincoln Avenue, Charleston, IL 61920 USA <sljohnson2@eiu.edu> Publisher Coverage: Bethany House; Five Star; HarperCollins; IPG; Penguin Random House (all imprints); Severn House; Australian presses; university presses

Features Editor: Lucinda Byatt 13 Park Road, Edinburgh, EH6 4LE UK <textline13@gmail.com>

New Voices Column Editor: Myfanwy Cook 47 Old Exeter Road, Tavistock, Devon PL19 OJE UK <myfanwyc@btinternet.com>

REVIEWS EDITORS, UK Alan Fisk

<alan.fisk@alanfisk.com> Publisher Coverage: Aardvark Bureau, Black and White, Bonnier Zaffre, Crooked Cat, Freight, Gallic, Honno, Impress, Karnac, Legend, Pushkin, Oldcastle, Quartet, Sandstone, Saraband, Seren, Serpent’s Tail

Edward James

<busywords_ed@yahoo.com> Publisher Coverage: Arcadia; Atlantic Books; Canongate; Head of Zeus; Glagoslav; Hodder Headline (inc. Coronet, Hodder & Stoughton, NEL, Sceptre); John Murray; Pen & Sword; Robert Hale; Alma; The History Press

Douglas Kemp

<douglaskemp62@gmail.com> Publisher Coverage: Allison & Busby; Little, Brown; Orion; Penguin Random House UK (Cornerstone, Ebury, Transworld, Vintage, and their imprints); Quercus

<clark1103@yahoo.com> Publisher Coverage: US/Canadian children’s publishers <xuwriter@gmail.com> Publisher Coverage: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Simon & Schuster (all imprints); Soho; and Poisoned Pen Press

Larry Zuckerman

<lzuckerman@earthlink.net> Publisher Coverage: Bloomsbury; Macmillan (all imprints); and Grove/Atlantic

REVIEWS EDITOR, INDIE Misty Urban

<misty@historicalnovelsociety.org> Publisher Coverage: all self- and subsidy-published novels

EDITORIAL POLICY & COPYRIGHT Reviews, articles, and letters may be edited for reasons of space, clarity, and grammatical correctness. We will endeavour to reflect the authors’ intent as closely as possible, and will contact the authors for approval of any major change. We welcome ideas for articles, but have specific requirements to consider. Before submitting material, please contact the editor to discuss whether the proposed article is appropriate for Historical Novels Review. In all cases, the copyright remains with the authors of the articles. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the authors concerned.

MEMBERSHIP DETAILS

THE HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY was formed in 1997 to help promote historical fiction. We are an open society — if you want to get involved, get in touch. MEMBERSHIP in the Historical Novel Society entitles members to all the year’s publications: four issues of Historical Novels Review, as well as exclusive membership benefits through the Society website. Back issues of Society magazines are also available. For current rates, please see: https://historicalnovelsociety.org/members/join/

HISTORICAL FICTION MARKET NEWS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

NEW BOOKS BY HNS MEMBERS

ISSUE 92 MAY 2020

Historical Fiction Market News

Congrats to the following authors on their new releases! If you’ve written a historical novel or nonfiction work published (or to be published) in February 2020 or after, please send the following details to me at sljohnson2@eiu.edu or @readingthepast by July 7: author, title, publisher, release date, and a blurb of one sentence or less. Details will appear in August’s magazine. Submissions may be edited for space.

Sarah Johnson

New Voices Profiles of debut authors Louise Fein, Natalie Jenner, Michael L. Huie & Rita Woods | Myfanwy Cook

Fortune’s Child: A Novel of Empress Theodora by James Conroyd Martin (Hussar Quill, Oct. 21, 2019) was described by Kirkus Reviews as “a meticulously researched historical account presented in the form of a thrilling political drama.”

Ask the Agent Isobel Dixon & Graeme Macrae Burnet |

COLUMNS 1

Richard Lee

FEATURES AND INTERVIEWS 8

Not Just for Kids The Graphic Novel & Historical Fiction by Hugo Frey

10 A Mirror to the World Historical Fiction for Children & Young Adults by Donis Casey 12 The Mercies of the Past Power and punishment on the Norwegian island of Vardø by Katherine Stansfield 13 Taking Up a Challenge Herbert J. Stern and Alan A. Winter's novel, Wolf by Myfanwy Cook 14 Evacuation Elisabeth Gifford's The Lost Lights of St Kilda by Sally Zigmond

Torn apart by Hitler’s youth evacuation program, a young couple must rise above the war and find each other again in Annette Oppenlander’s When They Made Us Leave (Annette Oppenlander, Nov. 15, 2019). Storm Wrack & Spindrift (Taste Life Twice Publishing, Nov. 21, 2019) is Margaret Pinard’s third novel about the MacLeans of Mull, a dramatic story of survival and rebellion from the backwoods of Nova Scotia to the cities of Scotland, as brother and sister struggle separately for recognition and individual freedom. In the aftermath of the Irish Easter Rising in 1916, the Clans of destiny seek McCarthy Gold in accordance with their ancient Clans Pact while their nemesis, Boyle, plots to steal the treasure and kill them all in McCarthy Gold (Manzanita Writers Press, Nov. 30, 2019), the fourth novel of Stephen Finlay Archer’s Irish Clans series. Love Burns, so do witches: Annemarie Schiavi Pedersen’s Celestina’s Burnings (Literary Wanderlust, Jan. 1) is the author’s debut novel. Lynna Banning’s The Saracen (Amazon, Jan.), set during the Reconquista in medieval Spain, when the power of the Arab kingdom is weakening and the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile fight for the spoils, follows Christian novice Malenda de Balenguer and taifa general Barik ibn Hassam as they find themselves falling in love.

15 A World of Victorian Oddness Jess Kidd's Things in Jars by Bethany Latham

From the walled gardens of antebellum Charleston to the vast prairies of the American West, the Lazare Family Saga continues with a dangerous love affair and a blond Cheyenne Indian in Elizabeth Bell’s Lost Saints (Claire-Voie Books, Jan. 6).

REVIEWS

Speaker for the God (indie, Jan. 6) by Henry Millstein is a novel about the prophet Jeremiah, based on contemporary research into the life of ancient Israel.

16 Book Reviews Editors’ choice and more

Set in the precarious early years of the Tudor throne, Joanna Hickson’s latest novel The Lady of the Ravens (Harper Fiction, Jan. 9) narrates the friendship that develops between Henry VII’s queen, Elizabeth of York, and one of her servant-companions, Joan Vaux, a commoner who uses native wit and an unusual education to navigate a court riven by treachery and conspiracy, as the king endeavours to unite

A publication of the Historical Novel Society | www.historicalnovelsociety.org

his realm following the battles and enmities of the Wars of the Roses. In The Bridled Tongue by Catherine Meyrick (Courante Publishing, Feb. 1), as England braces for invasion by Spain’s great armada, Alyce Bradley confronts closer dangers from both her own and her husband, privateer Thomas Granville’s pasts with old slanders taking on new life and threatening not only her hopes of love and happiness but her life. In Carrie Callaghan’s Salt the Snow (CRP/Amberjack, Feb. 4), American journalist Milly Bennett has covered murders in San Francisco, fires in Hawaii, and a civil war in China, but 1930s Moscow presents her greatest challenge yet: when her young Russian husband is arrested by the secret police, Milly tries to get him released, but his arrest reveals both painful secrets about her marriage and hard truths about the Soviet state she has been working to serve. From Sherri L. Smith, the award-winning author of Flygirl, comes The Blossom and the Firefly (G.P. Putnam’s Sons/Penguin Random House, Feb. 18), a powerful WWII romance between two Japanese teens caught in the cogs of an unwinnable war, perfect for fans of Salt to the Sea, Lovely War, and Code Name Verity. In Woman in Red - Magdalene Speaks by Krishna Rose (Black Rose Writing, Feb. 20), Mary Magdalene, the most misunderstood woman in history, returns strong and true as the irresistible voice of the banished feminine divine. Marty Ambrose’s second book in a trilogy, A Shadowed Fate (Severn House, Mar. 3), covers Claire Clairmont’s, the last survivor of the Byron/Shelley circle in 1873 Italy, desperate search for her long-lost daughter while repairing the past with lovers who betrayed her. In Catherine Kullmann’s new Regency novel, The Potential for Love (Willow Books, Mar. 25), Arabella Malvin finds her choice of husband complicated by unexpected danger and new challenges. The Rose and the Whip, the debut novel from Jae Hodges (WordCrafts Press, Mar. 25), tells the story of systematic persecution of Quakers by the Puritans in 1660s Massachusetts Bay Colony from the perspective of Lidia Wardell as she is tied to the whipping post and publicly lashed for her single act of protest. Death and the Dear Doctor by Valerie Fletcher Adolph (Amazon, Mar.) is a light-hearted cosy historical mystery set in 1947 Yorkshire introducing Trudy and Alice who puzzle over discovering the identity of the killer of Alice’s husband, assisted (more-or-less) by the eccentric guests at the Avalon Hotel. In J. G. Lewis’s The Lost Child: An Ela of Salisbury Medieval Mystery (Stoneheart Press, Mar. 31), when a child of village outcasts disappears from Salisbury, Ela travels to London determined to find her—and to convince King Henry III to make her High Sheriff of Wiltshire. In Daniel Greene’s Northern Blood (Rune Publishing LLC, Mar. 31), book 3 in the Northern Wolf Series and set during the US Civil War, Wolf embarks on a dangerous mission behind enemy lines to set J. E. B. Stuart, the Knight of the Golden Spurs, off-kilter and force him on to the battlefield. Christine Bell’s debut novel No Small Shame (Ventura Press, Apr. 1), set during the years spanning WWI, is the story of a young Catholic immigrant torn between love and duty at a time when there were high expectations but little agency for women.

COLUMNS | Issue 92, May 2020

The Silken Rose by Carol McGrath (Headline Group, Apr. 2) is biographical fiction about Ailenor of Provence, cultured and intelligent, who is only thirteen when she marries Henry III of England; aware of the desperate importance of providing heirs to secure the throne from those who would snatch it away, she is ruthless in her dealings with Henry’s barons. Mercies of the Fallen, the second book in Eileen Charbonneau’s American Civil War Brides series (BWL, Apr.), features plantation heiress Ursula Kingsley, who is content with her secluded life in a convent until the bloodiest day of the Civil War brings blinded Irish immigrant Union soldier Rowan Buckley into her life. Gilbert Lewthwaite’s The Sweetest Deal of the American Revolution (PublishNation, Apr. 23) delves into the American enterprise, British stoicism and French self-interest behind what literally was the sweetest deal – the extraordinary exchange of the entire 1782 sugar harvest of the tropical island of St. Kitts for the freedom of a captured American privateer, Stewart Dean – as the revolution that began with the Boston Tea Party ended with a decisive fight over the Caribbean sugar bowl. In Ken Czech’s The Tsar’s Locket (Fireship Press, April 30), Tsar Ivan the Terrible craves an English bride and disgraced sea captain Julian Blunt is tasked by Queen Elizabeth with carrying a top-secret betrothal locket to Russia. Based on an unexplored slice of World War II history, Exile Music by Jennifer Steil (Viking, May 5) is the captivating story of a young Jewish girl whose family flees refined and urbane Vienna for safe harbor in the mountains of Bolivia. Edgar Allan Poe and C. Auguste Dupin, in Karen Lee Street’s Edgar Allan Poe and the Empire of the Dead (Pegasus/US and Point Blank/ UK, May 5), are lured into a deadly cat and mouse chase through the notorious streets and tunnels of 1849 Paris by the criminal who ruined the Dupin family in a mystery involving alchemy, mesmerism and magic, the shadows of the past and the endurance of love. The Talking Drum by Lisa Braxton (Inanna Publications, May 30) is about three young couples in the early 1970s and how they’re affected when plans are underway for an urban redevelopment project to take over an immigrant neighborhood with the goal of gentrification. Alice Poon’s Tales of Ming Courtesans (Earnshaw Books, Jun. 1) is a heart-rending account of three ill-fated but spirited 17th-century courtesans’ gritty fight for survival, dignity and hope, steeped in the late-Ming era’s arts and culture scene. Former HNR reviews editor Tracey Warr’s Conquest: The Anarchy (Impress, Jun.2), third in her gripping Conquest trilogy about the 12th-century Welsh princess Nest ferch Rhys, opens in the year 1121, as Nest becomes embroiled in the Welsh resistance against the Norman occupation of her family lands; she pays a visit to England’s King Henry, hoping to secure a life away from her unwanted husband, the Norman constable of Cardigan Castle. In Gilded Dreams: The Journey to Suffrage (Magnum Opus/Next Chapter Publishing, Jun. 16), the sequel to her international bestselling Gilded Summers, Donna Russo Morin has penned the triumphs and the tribulations of the last eight years of the suffrage movement, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of American women gaining the right to vote. Taken captive, abandoned on the prairie, left for dead…their paths

diverge, but the five women who survive the attack on the Lake Shetek settlement share a determination to live; each emerges more powerful than she imagined herself to be (based on historical events) in Pamela Nowak’s Never Let Go: Survival of the Lake Shetek Women (Five Star Frontier Fiction, Jul. 22). In The Aloha Spirit by Linda Ulleseit (She Writes Press, Aug. 18), married at sixteen and the mother of two by nineteen, Dolores’s quest to find the aloha spirit within herself—and to escape the abuse of her alcoholic husband—leads her to flee Hawaii after the bombing of Pearl Harbor for California, where she seeks to make a new life for herself.. but her past isn’t so easily left behind. In A Feigned Madness, Tonya Mitchell’s debut novel (Cynren Press, Oct. 6), in order to be hired by a leading newspaper in 1887 New York City, a young woman goes undercover in an insane asylum to expose its atrocities. Tara Lynn Masih’s collaborative novelette, The Bitter Kind, written with Irish author James Claffey (Cervena Barva Press, Oct), deftly alternates between Stela, the daughter of a ship’s captain, burdened by her family secrets, and Brandy, a Chippewa orphan, haunted by ghost wolves and spirits.

NEW PUBLISHING DEALS Sources include authors and publishers, Publishers Weekly, Publishers Marketplace, The Bookseller, and more. Email me at sljohnson2@ eiu.edu or tweet me @readingthepast to have your publishing deal included. Marj Charlier’s first historical novel, The Rebel Nun, based on the true story of a rebellion by nuns at a monastery in Poitiers (Gaul) in AD 589, sold to Addi Black at Blackstone Publishing via Joelle Delbourgo of Joelle Delbourgo Associates for publication in early 2021. Translator of The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Red Sphynx Lawrence Ellsworth’s new translation of Alexandre Dumas’s Blood Royal, in which the Musketeers all venture to England on parallel missions to save King Charles I, sold to Claiborne Hancock at Pegasus for publication in fall 2020, by Philip Turner at Philip Turner Book Productions. Hedy’s War by Jenny Lecoat, based on a true story, about a Viennese Jewish woman in the occupied Channel Islands during WWII who falls in love with a German lieutenant, sold to Brittany Lavery at Graydon House for publication in winter 2021, by Fiona Brownlee at Brownlee Donald Associates. The UK edition (Polygon) is published in May 2020; the Australian edition (Allen & Unwin) is entitled The Viennese Girl. A return to the depictions of ancient warfare he’s best known for, Steven Pressfield’s A Man at Arms, set in the Macedonian world of 2500 years ago, sold to Star Lawrence at Norton by Sterling Lord at Lord of Publishing. No Sacrifice Too Great, the newest novel in the Cutler Family Chronicles, an American Revolutionary-era nautical series by naval historian William Hammond, plus reprint rights to the first five books, sold to George Jepson at Globe Pequot for spring 2021 publication by Richard Curtis at Richard Curtis Associates.

Ben George at Little, Brown for publication in 2021, by Lisa Queen at Queen Literary Agency. The Manningtree Witches by poet and writer A. K. Blakemore, set amidst the witch trials in 17th-c England, and viewed through the eyes of the daughter of a woman accused of witchcraft, sold to Jonathan Lee at Catapult (US), by Zoe Ross at United Agents. Ka Bradley at Granta acquired rights for the UK via Zoe Ross, for spring 2021 publication. Under the Paris Skies by Australian novelist Christine Wells, following two sisters who cross paths with Catherine Dior, sister of fashion designer Christian Dior and a member of the French resistance, and who are drawn into a dangerous world of espionage in occupied France, sold to Lucia Macro at William Morrow by Kevan Lyon at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Bestselling author of Moloka’i and Daughter of Moloka’i, Alan Brennert’s new novel Pearl, about four women whose lives entwine in Honolulu following the attack on Pearl Harbor, sold to Elisabeth Dyssegaard at St. Martin’s Press by Molly Friedrich at Friedrich Agency. The author of Code Name Hélène (an Editors’ Choice title in this issue), Ariel Lawhon moves to Maine of 1785 with the historical mystery The Frozen River, pitched as inspired by the actual life and diary of Martha Ballard, and following a midwife who solves a shocking murder in her small community; it sold to Doubleday’s Margo Shickmanter via Elisabeth Weed at The Book Group.

CORRECTION In the review of Andie Newton’s The Girl I Left Behind (HNR 91), which posed the question “Why were Jews fleeing to France in 1942?”, the attempt to escape to France by one of the Jewish characters was for family reasons and was not meant to imply that France was not under German control. Reviewer Edward James apologises for the misunderstanding.

OTHER NEW AND FORTHCOMING TITLES For forthcoming novels through late 2020, please see our guides, compiled by Fiona Sheppard: https://historicalnovelsociety.org/guides/forthcoming-historicalnovels/

COMPILED BY SARAH JOHNSON Sarah Johnson is Book Review Editor of HNR, a librarian, readers’ advisor, and author of reference books. She reviews for Booklist and CHOICE and blogs about historical novels at readingthepast.com. Her latest book is Historical Fiction II: A Guide to the Genre.

Tom Lin’s The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu, set in the American West 150 years ago, and following a Chinese-American assassin and former railwayman on a mission to save his abducted wife, sold to A publication of the Historical Novel Society | www.historicalnovelsociety.org

NEW VOICES

Michael L. Huie

at a ‘quiet year’ turned out to be a year of unintentional but most valuable research for the debut novel ahead.” Louise Fein, like Jenner, was able to draw inspiration from her personal experiences to enrich her novel. Fein’s Daughter of the Reich (HarperCollins, US, 2020) / People Like Us (Head of Zeus, UK), she says, “is a story of forbidden love, set in the tumultuous backdrop of 1930s Leipzig. The novel is told from the point of view of Hetty, a young girl who has grown up on a diet of Nazi propaganda and is hungry for a part to play in Hitler’s thousand-year Reich. Until, that is, she encounters Walter, a friend from her past, a Jew. As the Thirties spiral ever deeper into anti-Semitic fervour, Hetty and Walter’s developing relationship puts her beliefs into stark conflict and danger forces them to make choices which will change their lives forever.”

Natalie Jenner

Rita Woods

Louise Fein

Memories, tragedy and hope are all interlaced in the past worlds created by debut novelists Louise Fein, Natalie Jenner, Michael L. Huie, and Rita Woods.

Natalie Jenner’s The Jane Austen Society (Orion/St. Martin’s, 2020), as the author relates, “is a completely imagined telling of how a group of people, still reeling from WWII, come together to form a society dedicated to preserving the home of one of the world’s greatest writers. It examines the impulse to save and collect history through the lens of eight very different people: a village doctor, a local farmer, a widowed schoolteacher, a town solicitor, a Sotheby’s employee, an heiress on the village estate, a servant girl, and a Hollywood movie star.” Although the novel is a “fictional account,” as Jenner points out, her book is “the result of very real personal circumstances. On the heels of devastating medical news for my husband, I took a ‘quiet year’ and immersed myself in the works of my favourite author, Jane Austen. As I reread Austen’s books, I became cognizant both of their themes of living with grief, as well as their unique ability to help me with my own emotional pain. I then started consuming books about Austen’s own life, wanting to understand more about these connections. “My reading journey culminated in a week-long bucket list trip to Chawton, Hampshire, the village in England where Austen had lived and written or revised her six major works. Both her home, the Jane Austen’s House Museum, and that of her brother, Chawton House, have been wonderfully preserved, and I was so grateful to be able to make my pilgrimage due to these efforts.” As she explains, “That trip also changed me. The weight—and beauty—of all the history around me renewed my energy, my sense of connection to the past, and my appreciation of Austen’s own perseverance in the face of illness and despair. It also renewed a lifelong dream of writing—and there was one thing I wanted to write about most of all. And so, ironically, what had been an attempt 4

COLUMNS | Issue 92, May 2020

Fein’s book, she says, “was inspired by the experiences of my father’s family, Leipzig Jews, most of whom fled Germany for England or America during the 1930s. Whilst the story and the characters are fictional, the setting is authentic, and it is based around real events. My father died when I was only seventeen, and he never spoke of his experiences of living in Nazi Germany. My desire to learn about my roots, and to write something of it, percolated for many years. The itch grew and grew, and eventually I gave in to it.” She “instinctively knew,” she continues, that her novel “should be fictional, but its form and content were shadowy. I read Mein Kampf and learned about the experience of growing up under Nazi rule; traveled to Leipzig and met with experts; devoured family papers and listened to the memories of survivors, the characters of Hetty and Walter came to me, and with them their story.” As she read, she says, “the more interested I became in trying to understand how a democratic, civilised nation could, in just a few short years, overthrow democracy, demonise the Jews (and others), and descend into a violent, fear-filled fascist state who aimed to exterminate the Jewish race. I felt my story would be powerful if told from the point of view of a young, innocent girl, brought up to fear and hate perceived difference. What could possibly change her beliefs?” The result of Fein’s creative endeavour is “a story of the fragility of freedom, and the ease with which one group can de-humanise another to the extent of un-imaginable horror. But it is also the story of friendship, hope, and above all, the power of love.” The women whose lives M. L. (Michael) Huie has highlighted in his novel Spitfire (Crooked Lane, 2020) bring to readers’ attention a different kind of the fragile freedom described by Fein in her novel. For Huie, “a novel can’t grow with just one idea. It’s more a conflux of ideas that form a foundation like the corner pieces of a puzzle. Waiting for the pieces to make a book idea whole can try your patience. “I started thinking about writing my debut novel Spitfire after reading Elizabeth Wein’s Code Name: Verity. Apart from being beautifully written, it was my first exposure to the WW2 British spy organization SOE and the role women played in it. I’d never been particularly enamored of this period, but after reading Wein’s book, and a few non-fiction accounts of the SOE women, my tune changed drastically.”

Huie realised that if you “look around any bookstore, you’ll find many compelling, successful series featuring daring women set before and during the war, such as Susan Elia MacNeal’s Maggie Hope or Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs,” he says. “I wanted something different, so I had to wait for another corner piece for my puzzle.” Then, he continues, “One bright afternoon, I read that Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, was in charge of foreign correspondents for The (London) Sunday Times after the war. Fleming claimed—and oh how I pray this is true—that some of his correspondents also worked for MI6. Even better, he had a framed map of the world in his office with little twinkling lights in cities where his reporters were stationed.” Huie became aware that “in fiction Fleming has often been portrayed as a surrogate Bond, but this showed me a different way. He’s not Bond, he’s M.” He was than confronted by a problem he’d never predicted. “The next puzzle piece,” he says, was that “for the first time in my life I endured a period of unemployment. It does a number on your self-esteem, and I felt betrayed and wondered what the future held. Women who served surely felt the same, to an even greater degree, when they were told after the war to go back to traditional women’s roles and forget serving their country.” Huie realised that he had “the corner piece for my puzzle.” After that, all he “had to do was fill in the other 80,000 or so pieces” to complete his novel. Rita Woods’ novel Remembrance (Forge, 2020) dips in and out of history from present-day Ohio to Haiti in 1791 and New Orleans in 1857. She describes how she was inspired to write her novel: imagine as if you were “sitting on a train… Another train is visible just outside your window, on a parallel track. One train begins to move, and suddenly you have that disorienting, slightly stomach-churning sensation of confusion: which train is actually moving? In which direction? How quickly?” One day, as Woods relates, “I had gone to visit an artist friend. In her bathroom was a book, something like Quantum Mechanics for Dummies. I picked it up because that’s what writers and readers do. If the written word is available, any written word, we are compelled to read it. Most of what was written remained completely incomprehensible, but the train analogy was used as an example of one of the principles of quantum mechanics: that motion, speed and space are relative. And suddenly… what if?”

and “Remembrance was no exception.” For Woods, she says, “that notion of space and movement not being fixed entities became a thought that rolled around and around in my head. I have always been fascinated by history, especially my history. The history of black people in America, their strength, their resilience through the centuries. Not only how they/we survived, but managed to triumph.” What would happen, she wondered, “if there was a person that could control space and motion? What if that person could use that power to create a place, a sanctuary for runaway slaves, parallel to, but imperceptible to the outside world? Slowly, the idea of a woman—damaged by the brutalities of her world but strong, and a survivor—possessing this ability began to take shape. This woman could use this power to protect herself and ultimately her people.” As a consequence, “As Remembrance took shape, as Mother Abigail became more fully realized, it became clear that the story was bigger and more far-reaching than just the haven she had created in Ohio on the eve of the Civil War. It was more than her story alone. While slavery frames Remembrance, it is not a story of slavery per se. Rather for the characters, slavery serves as both the source of great tragedy and the catalyst for the fullest realization of their powers. These are women who ultimately refused to be victims. “The peculiar intersection of science, history and resilience, in the end, became the story Remembrance.” The importance of love, friendship, loyalty and hope underscores the novels of Fein, Jenner, Huie and Woods and brings a shaft of light into dark moments in history and individual lives.

WRITTEN BY MYFANWY COOK Myfanwy Cook is an Associate Fellow at two British Universities and a creative writing workshop designer. Please do email (myfanwyc@btinternet.com) if you discover any debut novels you would like to see brought to the attention of other lovers of historical fiction.

Every novel, as she points out, “begins with this question. What if?” A publication of the Historical Novel Society | www.historicalnovelsociety.org

ASK THE AGENT Isobel Dixon's Signing of Graeme Macrae Burnet

writing the final of his Inspector Gorski novels set in Alsace in the 1970s. Ann Granger’s next Victorian crime novel is The Truth-Seeker’s Wife, set on the Hampshire coast and out in 2021.

photo credit: John Devlin

photo credit: Jack Ladenburg

‘Edward Carey has just completed a beautiful slim novel (with his own illustrations), The Swallowed Man, narrated by Gepetto from inside the belly of the huge fish that has swallowed him. Is a haunting re-fashioning of the Pinocchio story a historical novel? I guess so?’

ISOBEL DIXON Isobel Dixon is MD and Head of Books at Blake Friedmann Literary Agency in London and President of the (British) Association of Authors’ Agents. ‘It has been insane – managed mayhem, perhaps!’ Isobel says, of the COVID-19 lockdown. Meetings must now be conducted by Zoom. She has myriad consultations with industry representatives, new measures to consider. ‘All this while helping authors to deal with a whole new world of everything online, reconfiguring cancelled events and managing the shifting of publication dates.’ Isobel normally commutes to London from Cambridge, where she lives with her husband, a clinical psychologist. She is an awardwinning poet, and her writing remains pivotal for her: she is currently working on a ‘long-term’ collaboration with Scottish artist Douglas Robertson, inspired by D.H. Lawrence’s 1923 collection, Birds, Beasts and Flowers. Her Scottish roots are also important to her, as is her early life in South Africa – brought up in a rambling, book-filled house shared with her parents and four sisters. But Isobel is first and foremost a people person. When I was sitting next to her at an RNA dinner she flummoxed me with her first question: ‘So what are you writing?’ I thought she had mistaken who I was, and tried clumsily to explain. But she knew exactly who I was, was characteristically more interested in that than in who I represented. Next day at the London Book Fair we again chatted cordially. Later I saw her at her desk on IRC floor at the event – legendary land of caffeine and fear (sometimes described as ‘speed-dating for agents’). She projected such calm to her succession of international editors. If there is anyone you would trust to manage mayhem, it is Isobel Dixon. Our meeting today, sadly, has to be virtual rather than in person – me at home in Devon, Isobel in Cambridge. I ask first for updates about her HF authors – as eclectic a group as they are impressive. Joseph O’Connor’s new novel, I learn, is set in the Vatican and Rome during WWII (My Father’s House). Graeme Macrae Burnet is working on a new standalone, then will return to 6

COLUMNS | Issue 92, May 2020

David Gilman is working on the seventh as-yet-untitled book in his hugely popular Master of War series, starring stonemason-archerturned knight Thomas Blackstone, and set during the Hundred Years’ War. Elizabeth Chadwick has just completed The Coming of the Wolf, the prequel to her prize-winning debut, The Wild Hunt, a short novel set in the Welsh Borders in 1069. She is also working on her next fulllength novel, about Joanna de Valence. Pippa Goldschmidt has recently completed Schrödinger’s Wife, focused on Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger, his wife Anny, and his relationship with a mystery woman around the time he made his ground-breaking discoveries in quantum physics in the 1920s. Barbara Erskine’s new timeslip novel, Offa’s Daughter, will be published next year. And I also gather that Lawrence Norfolk is working on new historical novel… My (inevitable) next question is if Isobel is open to taking on new clients. If so, what might spark her interest? She offers a cautious ‘yes.’ ‘I have to say at the start that I have a very fluid sense of genre, and while one has to use categories in the business, I often represent authors who write across traditional categories. I find myself particularly attracted to ‘borderline’ books, the betwixt and between, the indefinable and hybrid.’ She says she is open to work set in any era – ‘Everywhere and anytime, past, present, future. I love to travel – in books, even when one can’t do so geographically. The same goes for time as well as place. I am happy to explore widely. I am sceptical, suspicious of narrow ‘certainties,’ absolutist narratives, and acutely aware of the complexity of history and in all human endeavour. I love representing fiction which shows the world in all its joy and pain and nuance.’ I ask about the importance of media crossover: Blake Friedmann has always represented film as well as books – does this influence the kind of author they like to sign? ‘As an agent you are used to seeing a story’s potential in its totality. It’s wonderful if ideas spark in all directions and you can see how a book could work on page, stage, screen and more – but the transfer to screen is not essential for me to love a book and take on an author. I do have to feel very strongly about the quality of the work and sure of its commercial potential, by which I mean that I can secure worthwhile deals for the author, not just in one market. ‘I wouldn’t say Blake Friedmann has "separate wings" – even though we do have a Media Department and translation rights colleagues, we’re a very close team. ‘Agents are encouraged to follow their own taste and instincts – the test is whether you can also sell what you admire. Working only on a commission basis focuses the mind! I have to love a book, respect the author and feel that I can sell the book to take someone on. It’s a close relationship and a long game.’

I ask if she has taken on any new HF authors recently. ‘Last year, two clients. Tom Benn, a Lecturer in the School of Creative Writing at UEA, contacted me by email and I was blown away by the power, originality and exceptional prose of his novel Oxblood, which tells the story of three generations of women in a family of criminal men in Wythenshawe, Manchester. Separately, I went to the Norwich Crime Fiction Festival and attended readings from the Crime Fiction MA anthology – and heard Bridget Walsh, one of Tom’s students, read – brilliantly. Her witty, spirited and beautifully written Victorian crime novel, The Stanhope Venus, is the first in a series which I am selling now.’ Isobel still looks at new work, still takes on ‘special and irresistible projects,’ but passes most submissions on to her fellow agents. The colleagues that are interested in historical fiction are Samuel Hodder (favourites include The Song of Achilles, The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock and ‘all the novels of Mary Renault!’), Kate Burke (‘interested in high concept thrillers and on the women’s fiction side, loves historical fiction that appeals to a reading group market, particularly set during or post-WW2). ‘Juliet Pickering is very clear that her preference for historical fiction is anything set after 1900.’ To finish, I ask Isobel about any particularly loved books. Her list tends pleasingly towards books she enjoyed in childhood or in her teens – I am reminded of that idyllic home in the Camdeboo – Georgette Heyer, Victoria Holt, Robert Louis Stevenson, Daphne du Maurier, as well as Flambards, The Eagle of the Ninth and Johnny Tremain. Her favourite Austen is Persuasion, Hardy, Far From the Madding Crowd, James, Portrait of a Lady, Wharton, House of Mirth and Age of Innocence. She loves ‘a brilliant love story, whether that comes packaged in literary fiction, historical adventure or romance of any period.’ Perhaps surprisingly, she chooses a trio of ‘perfect’ American Civil War novels: Cold Mountain, Neverhome and Redemption Falls. I am sad we didn’t get to meet this time in person. Something to look forward to when our current turmoil has passed. Visit isobeldixon.com or blakefriedmann.co.uk – or follow Isobel on Twitter @isobeldixon

GRAEME MACRAE BURNET Graeme Macrae Burnet’s second novel, His Bloody Project, was shortlisted for the 2016 Man Booker Prize, and has been translated into 21 languages. Graeme will be a guest of honour at our UK conference this year in Durham: hns-events.com #HNS2020 Graeme didn’t have an agent for his first three books. ‘I dealt directly with Saraband,’ he says. So his process for choosing an agent was one most authors can only dream of. His Bloody Project, Graeme’s second novel, was shortlisted for the 2016 Booker Prize and though it did not win, it outsold the other shortlisted titles. As a result, agents were emailing him out of the blue. That is one version of the story. Graeme tells me that in fact his first recognition came from winning a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award. An agent did sign him after this, and worked with him extensively on The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau. ‘This was a wholly positive experience,’ Graeme says, though the agency was unable to place the novel. ‘It was getting the sort of response like, "if we wanted a French novel we’d get one from France written by a French author." It wasn’t crimey enough to be a crime novel, it wasn’t literary enough to be a literary novel.’ And eventually the agent dropped it. So Graeme looked for smaller publishers who

would accept unsolicited manuscripts, and by serendipity Saraband was at that time proposing its new crime imprint, Contraband. While Adèle Bedeau had perhaps been seen as too niche by bigger publishers, Saraband’s founder Sara Hunt recognised a unique voice and agreed to publish the novel. But a publisher is not primarily an agent. After meeting with a number of agents, why did Graeme choose Isobel? ‘I was impressed by how she spoke about my work, and how she wanted to know what my future plans were. She listened to what I wanted. She was also extremely respectful towards my relationship with Saraband, which in my experience of speaking to other agents, was not always the case. ‘You learn as an author that there are certain things that you can control and certain things that you can’t control, and the one thing that you can control is: how good is the book. Some agents I met up with – they didn’t even mention my work. I mean – I guess they’d read it. But I don’t know. One of my questions to Isobel was: ‘to what extent do you want to get involved editorially?’ And Isobel said she did want to be involved.’ So how does that work? ‘Isobel has seen a draft of the next book, and she read it with tremendous attention. She annotated the whole manuscript and sent me back extensive comments, and she is a very insightful reader. And it’s like, maybe sometimes you are trying to get away with something, you think, maybe no-one will notice? And Isobel puts her finger on it, and you’re, like, "Damn!" But that’s actually what you want at this stage, because you don’t want that when the book’s published. ‘I want her to take my work out into the world and be my champion. And the whole screen and theatrical thing – it’s very helpful. It’s not something I know about at all.’ This week Graeme is sending Isobel a ‘final’ manuscript of the novel he has been working on for two and a half years. ‘Yeah – it’s a big deal for me. What I’d say I’m sending is a submittable draft. Because no matter who publishes it, they will have an editor who may want to tighten up various aspects of the plot – so it’s not final final.’ Graeme Macrae Burnet’s first three novels are The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau, His Bloody Project and The Accident on the A35. His short story, 'The Dark Thread,' appears in These Our Monsters: The English Heritage Collection of New Stories Inspired by Myth and Legend. Visit graememacraeburnet.com or follow Graeme on Twitter @GMacraeBurnet

WRITTEN BY RICHARD LEE Richard Lee is founder and chairman of the Historical Novel Society. He is currently writing a novel about the Crusades.

A publication of the Historical Novel Society | www.historicalnovelsociety.org

NOT JUST FOR KIDS The Graphic Novel and Historical Fiction

It was back in the later 1980s that the literary world first got excited about the graphic novel. All of a sudden, important and powerful stories were being told through words, images, speech bubbles, grids and panels. Historical writing was right at the forefront of the revolution with Art Spiegelman’s Maus (Penguin, 1987), recounting the memories of his family’s experience of the Holocaust and winning a special category of the Pulitzer Prize in 1992. The new works were so different from what we all expected from a comic book, with many of us growing up on titles such as the Asterix and Tintin series from France and Belgium (after all, they had been children’s literature staples in the 1970s and 1980s). Fairly quickly, the media excitement about the graphic novel faded. The graphic novel did not replace the novel, as some journalists at the time had suggested would be the pattern (thankfully). What did occur over a much longer period of time was a growing acceptance that comics were not just for kids and that the new works were very capable of adding to our appreciation of historical fiction. In fact, this proved to be a significant thematic area of investigation for the emerging medium. Since then, there have been very significant contributions from the graphic novel. Some forty or so years on, today, one can discern that three major directions have developed where graphic novels and historical fiction combine with each other. Let me introduce each in turn. First, there have been very powerful new autobiographical graphic

FEATURES | Issue 92, May 2020

novels that achieve unique encounters with history that are told through first-person diary or memoir format. These works provide moving personal voices where the ‘sound’ of the text is combined with the unique hand of the artist. Often these are small, intimate accounts of where individual experience encounters a major historical event or dramatic episode. For example, Art Spiegelman’s second major work, In the Shadow of No Towers (Pantheon, 2004), unpacked his experiences of living in New York during the 9/11 terror attacks and the subsequent war on terror. There have been bestsellers such as Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (Jonathan Cape, 2003) as well as unique testimonies of other international historical crises. For example, Thi Bui’s The Best We Could Do (Harry Abrams, 2017) is another amazing demonstration of where history, memoir and graphic novel merge together. Thi Bui’s contribution is to use the work to help us better understand the meaning of the Vietnam war from her new perspective, a viewpoint that runs counter to years of macho Hollywood cinema. However, the field of memoir and autohistorical fiction-faction is not only about individuals under the sway of powerful political historical forces. A clearly important new area is the extended world of ‘graphic medicine’ with many graphic novelists narrating life-changing experiences (the best example I know is to be found in the continuing work of the brilliant Zara Slattery). Second, comic strip material in the superhero mode has increasingly woven together the stories of action and adventure with important and real historical backdrops. Neil Gaiman invented an entire universe wherein famous super-heroes are re-deployed into seventeenth-century England and colonial America. Today, war comics don’t only narrate tales of derring-do, but are just as likely to incorporate serious historical backdrops (e.g., Joe Kubert taking his ‘Sgt Rock’ to Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe in Sgt Rock The Prophecy, DC Comics, 2007). British writer Alan Moore is a hugely influential figure. His work runs the spectrum from witty satire (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) to the grim realism of his take on the Jack the Ripper mythos, From Hell (Moore and Campbell, Campbell Comics, 1999). Moore attracts a fan readership in huge numbers, and I have attended academic conferences in the United States where his work is treated with as much reverence as if he were the Shakespeare of our times. One scholar I admire who works on these aspects is Laurike in’t Veld. Her work on kitsch and comics very carefully discusses the representational stakes when popular culture addresses historical trauma. In different ways, she picks up where Susan Sontag left off in her ‘Fascinating fascism’ essay of 1974. Third, and finally, the world of the traditional historical novel (no pictures; no thought balloons) is exploring and talking about the comic book. We know of Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (Random House, 2000) but important to also recall are many other comparable developments of novelists writing about the history of comics. Tom De Haven’s ‘Derby Duggan’ trilogy narrates twentieth-century American history through the life of a comic strip artist (an original frame that results in a beautiful set of themes).1 Rick Moody’s The Ice Storm (Little Brown, 1994) remains remarkably insightful on the 1970s vibe and how comics are a vital part of growing up. A late work from Umberto Eco fits this new emerging tradition as well (back in the 1960s Eco was one of the first to take comics seriously in his academic and journalistic writings, long before The Name of the Rose). All of this terrain is very different from the time when it was the novel that was adapted into the comic book in the ‘Classics Illustrated’ line. For what it’s worth, readers may

ALL OF A SUDDEN, important and powerful stories were being told through words, images, speech bubbles, grids and panels.

be interested that re-novelization into text and image continues: the artist-writer Simon Grennan delivering a nuanced Trollope for our times (Dispossession, Jonathan Cape) in 2015. The original invention of the term ‘graphic novel’ came towards the end of the 1970s, and once again the links to historical fiction jump out. It was Will Eisner who coined the label for his own collection of historical short stories set in Depression-era New York, A Contract With God (Baronet, 1978). His collection remains an important work that has been too often glossed over in favour of the slew of new titles on the bookshelves. Eisner is especially good at capturing the trials and tribulations of everyday life among the poor and deprived, as well as sometimes finding the humour in life’s challenges. His work no doubt influenced the other great social realist of the form, Harvey Pekar. It was Pekar who collaborated with a variety of artists to create the series of ‘everyday’ life stories from Cleveland, Ohio, American Splendor (collected edition, Running Press, 1993). These diary treatments focus on the daily life of the author and his endeavours working as an administrative clerk in a hospital. A famous independent film adaptation returned them to some popularity in the mid-2000s. Whether or not Pekar is a historical graphic novelist or not is surely a moot point. Nonetheless, he provided an eyewitness account of a part of society that had hitherto been overlooked in a lot of quarters. More recently, national commemorative periods have increased supply and demand for historically-themed graphic novels, a case in point being the centenary of the First World War when graphic novelists were instrumental in providing popular imagery of the conflict. In France and Belgium, on the Western front itself, the work of one figure is predominant: Jacques Tardi. The theme of the war is central to his entire oeuvre with his art playing an important graphic design role in the French First World War museums. While less familiar to English readers, a great deal of his work is now available in translation. This includes the key It was the war of the trenches (trans. Kim Thompson, Fantagraphics, 2010) and the amusing but poignant satire (now also film) on Jules Verne and others, The Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec. I introduce my own students to Tardi’s work early on in a course dedicated to ‘History and the Graphic Novel’ here at University of Chichester. It is always a unique experience to see students unfamiliar with graphic novels realise their power to address the past. Tardi is also the author of a number of important adaptations of the French crime novelist of the 1940s and 1950s, Leo Malet. Tardi’s re-imagining of the Malet universe offers a unique historical painting of the Paris city landscape and has loads of ‘period charm’ and the odd brutal murder. There are one or two figures whose works merit an additional note here. In particular I am thinking of two Canadian artist-writers who use the form in very different ways. Artist George Walker works in the tradition of the wordless book, pioneered in Europe in the 1930s by Frans Masereel. His collection of historical pieces, Written in Wood (Firefly, 2014) is a powerful exposition, including again a unique treatment on the 9/11 terror attack. In a different mode entirely, where words matter greatly, Chester Brown has authored the meticulously researched biography of frontier revolutionary, Louis Riel (Drawn and Quarterly, 2003). Graphic novels are very good at providing metadata, and Brown is a stickler for detail. Each page of Louis Riel is footnoted to guide where there is historical dispute or uncertainty. Brown’s endnotes are frankly Germanic in length and detail.

It’s possible I became a French historian (in the traditional mode) because of the influence of the Tintin and Asterix books. Tintin remains a fascination because of the extended and protracted debates on the political context to his work and the clichéd nature of his caricatures. Hergé and Tintin are a living history that has far from ended. It is also true that without the work of Art Spiegelman I am sure I would have ‘grown out’ of comics long ago. Today it is the vast range and international variety of historical fiction in graphic novels that impresses this historian. These graphic novels are windows on place, as well as time, and they continue to shape how we all interpret both the distant and more recent past.

REFERENCES 1. Tom De Haven

Funny Papers (1985), Derby Dugan’s Depression Funnies (1996), Derby Duggan Underground (2001)

WRITTEN BY HUGO FREY Hugo Frey, Director of Arts and Humanities (University of Chichester), co-edited The Cambridge History of the Graphic Novel (2018) a ‘book of the year’, The Spectator. With novelist Suzanne Joinson, he published Beautiful and Real (2019) on Vietnamese Cai Luong.

A publication of the Historical Novel Society | www.historicalnovelsociety.org

A MIRROR TO THE WORLD Historical Fiction for Children & Young Adults

the adult novels. As well as the major publishing houses – Penguin Random House, Macmillan, Faber & Faber and Bloomsbury, for example – there are a growing number of independent publishers producing some outstanding historical books for children. The radical Seven Stories Press publish foreign language books in translation, for example, the novels of Holocaust survivor and Hebrew-language author Aharon Appelfeld. His books, Adam & Thomas (2015) and Long Summer Nights (2019), both translated by Jeffrey Green, recount the semimystical journey of an eleven-year-old boy and an old man, a former Ukrainian commander, to whom the boy has been entrusted by his father, a Jew, fleeing the ravages of the war. Another example is Martha and the Slave Catchers by Harriet Hyman Alonso (2017), which tells the story of thirteen-year-old African American, Martha, who in 1854 joins the Underground Railroad to bring her seven-year-old brother back home and out of slavery. Another excellent publishing house is Chicken House, which covers virtually every historical time period from the prehistoric to the 20th century. In Nicholas Bowling’s In the Shadow of Heroes (2019), the reader is taken to the 1st century AD with fourteen-year-old Cadmus as the hero, and in Dan Smith’s She Wolf (2019) we are transported to 9th-century Northumbria, where a young orphaned Viking girl, Ylva, has to make her own way across the country in search of help. In the First World War feminist-themed book, Lilly and the Rockets (2019), by Rebecca Stevens, a detailed and moving account is given of the women’s football teams that grew out of the munitions factories.

Children’s fiction has a huge responsibility and an equally big opportunity to produce inclusive books which accurately reflect the world around us. Books can and should hold a mirror to the world. This is especially relevant in children’s historical fiction. Even though based in the past, the characters and their stories need to have relevance and impact in children’s lives today. As the UK children’s reviews editor for HNR, I am often astounded and delighted by the quality of the books that arrive. The majority are meticulously researched and shine new light on the particular time period the novel covers. As children’s fiction is broken into four age categories, the approach to the presentation of the historical period undoubtedly will differ. There are the picture books for the very young. Even at this young age, historical events can be introduced in an interesting but educational way, as has been demonstrated by the number of books released to commemorate the anniversary of the First World War. There are children’s books for 8-to-12 year-olds, that tackle more difficult and challenging issues, while the 12-to-14 category investigates historical events in a more detailed and mature manner, introducing deeper and more complex relationships between characters. The Young Adult category has grown and flourished in the last ten years and produces some excellent and gripping storylines to match

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There are also niche publishing houses whose authors tackle more national or localised issues. Irish publisher O’Brien Press publish some excellent books that examine world events and their impact in Ireland, or Irish events that had wider impact in the world, such as the Easter Rising or the Irish Civil War. Recently released Lily at Lissadell (2019), by Judi Curtin, is based at the start of the 20th century and combines the story of Lily, a young teenager forced to leave school and find work in service in a Big House, with that of her employers, the Gore-Booths, one of the most important republican families at the time in Ireland. As with this story, most of the historical facts in children’s fiction are clothed in an adventure or journey of self-discovery of the hero, where they find themselves in danger or jeopardy and eventually come out the other side a stronger and more mature person – unless there is a sequel planned, of course. Feminism and feminist-related books have been quite popular in the last few years, especially since the centenary of women’s right to vote in 2018. The most outstanding I have received for review in recent times is Things a Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls, published in 2017 by another excellent children’s publisher, Andersen Press. Based in 1914, the novel covers the suffragette movement and votes for women, on the verge of the First World War, but the main characters, Evelyn and May, also fall in love and have to manage their forbidden relationship in a disapproving world. Like many children’s and YA historical fiction, this book deals with issues and situations that many mainstream adult historical fiction novels are often not prepared to discuss. Many authors focus on producing stories that have a strong social conscience. Two former UK children’s laureates, Michael Morpurgo and Jacqueline Wilson, both known for their writing on contemporary

CHILDREN'S FICTION has a huge responsibility and an equally big opportunity to produce inclusive books which accurately reflect the world around us. social issues, have published historical fiction. Morpurgo, author of the children’s classic War Horse, in 2019 published Lucky Button (Walker Books), a moving historical time-slip story based in the 18th century, about the Foundling Museum, Britain’s first home for abandoned children. Jacqueline Wilson has also turned her hand to historical fiction over the years with her Hetty Feather series of books (Random House), also based around the Foundling Hospital, as well as the stand-alone 1920s novel Dancing the Charleston (Doubleday, 2019). Anniversaries do tend to produce a spate of books. The First and Second World War are always popular topics to write about. Other titles may be inspired by the celebrations of 250 years since the birth of William Wordsworth, and, of course, in September we mark 400 years of the departure of the Mayflower, as well as the Speedwell, bringing pilgrims from England to Virginia. There are historical themes and topics that are consistently popular for children’s fiction, but which are not anniversary related, such as those where there are many myths and legends of heroes, gods and otherworldly beings. Many well-established historians and academics have turned their hand to writing Viking period fiction in recent years. One such person is cultural historian and television presenter, Janina Ramirez, whose first children’s book was Riddle of the Runes (OUP, 2018) and a second, Way of the Waves (OUP, 2019), is already out. Books such as these are not only exhilarating fast-paced stories, but also embed historical accuracy throughout the novels. In a recent conversation with Ramirez, she said she still has a vivid memory of how she became fascinated with history. She was seven years old and visiting Hampton Court Palace near London. At one point she noticed she was standing on a very worn step and realised how many people over the centuries had stood in exactly the same place. Her PhD thesis at Oxford was a study of the Anglo-Saxons in the North of Britain and their encounters with different peoples, including the Vikings, so the Viking period was an ideal choice for her first novels for children. “People say to write what you know about,” Ramirez says, “so having studied that period of history for eight years, it was where I wanted to set my novels.” She continues, “People love a Viking, but I am trying to myth bust. They didn’t wear horns, they weren’t dirty and smelly. They were the ultimate international travellers and everywhere they went they were fascinated by the people they met.” Ramirez is commissioned to produce four books in the series; each one is stand-alone, but centring around one overarching mystery and each one rooted in historical fact. At the heart of the Riddle of the Runes is the Franks Casket, currently housed in the British Museum, whose runic inscriptions and other symbols still cannot be fully decoded by scholars. The books feature twelve-year-old shieldmaiden, Alva, and her adventures. Part of Alva’s journey is to uncover facts and stories about the casket, and clues are left in runes throughout the book for the young reader to decipher. Ramirez explains, “I always wanted a strong female lead in books when I was growing up and Alva is everything I imagined. The character just came naturally and fully formed.” Timeslip novels are also quite common and very popular for children and Young Adult readers. They provide a glimpse into the past and the issues being dealt with by the characters, as well as making those issues relevant in the present, especially when past and present

collide. As historical fiction reviewers, however, we still have to make sure the main plot is being carried out in the past, not the present, and historical accuracy is paramount. In my time as UK children’s reviews editor, I and my reviewers have, in addition to the ones already mentioned above, been transported to the time of the plague in 14thcentury England, to the high seas with Irish Pirate Queen Grace O’Malley, England under Henry Tudor, 18th-century Scotland under Bonnie Prince Charlie, France at the time of the French Revolution, South Africa during the Boer war and 1950s north-west England with the tale of an escaped elephant. Each book has left an indelible and memorable impression. It has been encouraging to see the children’s book industry respond to the interest in historical fiction amongst younger readers, and also respond to the need for representation in children’s fiction, including a wider diversity of characters. Young Adult fiction, in particular, seems to be making headway in this. In many ways, children’s historical fiction is leading the way in the historical fiction genre. The books are often challenging, cover a range of issues, bring the everyday details of the past to life and allow younger readers to be excited about history and see the relevance to their lives today

WRITTEN BY LINDA SEVER As Senior Lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire, Linda Sever has an MA in Writing for Children and a PhD in Medieval Art History. Lancashire’s Sacred Landscape appeared in 2015 (History Press) and a co-authored short story collection Cross Words in 2019 (Comma Press).

A publication of the Historical Novel Society | www.historicalnovelsociety.org

THE MERCIES OF THE PAST BY KATHERINE STANSFIELD

Power and punishment on the Norwegian island of Vardø Kiran Millwood Hargrave is an award-winning poet, playwright, and novelist. The Mercies is her first novel for adults. Her bestselling works for children include The Girl of Ink & Stars (Chicken House, 2016), and she has won numerous awards including the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the British Book Awards Children’s Book of the Year, and the Blackwell’s Children’s Book of the Year. Her books have also been shortlisted for prizes such as the Costa Children’s Book Award, the Blue Peter Best Story Award, and the Foyles Book of the Year Award. Millwood Hargrave’s novel, The Mercies (Picador UK / Little Brown US, 2020), is set in the seventeenth century on the remote Norwegian island of Vardø. The story is inspired by real events: a world-changing storm in 1617 off Vardø, and three years later, a series of witch trials there. It was an art installation on the island which was the starting point for a story that took over Millwood Hargrave’s imagination. She notes, “I didn’t set foot on Vardø until the first draft was written, and the book contract signed. There was no time to make the two-flightand-a-long-drive journey whilst drafting – the story was pouring out of me, coming too fast to think about anything else. I’d seen pictures of the installation online a year before – a metal chair perpetually aflame, surrounded by smoked mirrors, encased in black glass. It was the final major installation by Louise Bourgeois before she died, and I wanted to see it in person. When I investigated, I discovered it was on a tiny Arctic Circle island called Vardø, site of Scandinavia’s worst witch trials.” Like many writers, Millwood Hargrave admits she “fell down a Google hole” which led to her learning the story of the 1617 storm. She adds, “Three years later, the first woman was burned at the stake, on the spot where Bourgeois’s installation now stands. This three-year gap was too enticing to ignore – I wanted to know: what happened to these women? The Mercies became the answer.” The book opens with a young woman, Maren, experiencing an unsettling dream: a whale is beached, then butchered by the community’s menfolk before it is dead. The next day, a terrible storm erupts ‘like a finger snap’ and most of the island’s men, caught in the sudden tempest while fishing, are lost. Was the dream a portent? Was the whale sent by some ungodly force? In the aftermath of this disaster, the women of Vardø try to survive amidst a climate of religious persecution which ultimately leads to tragedy. Millwood Hargrave is clear about what the events on Vardø say to us today: “That unthinkable things are possible. That without constant vigilance against hysteria and fear, monsters can become our masters. There is only one true monster in The Mercies – the others are simply caught up in the monster’s web – but we can become their instruments too easily. Writing this book opened my heart hugely, made me aware again of the importance of empathy and love. These are not soft concepts: they are brave and hard to hold onto in uncertain times. Which makes them all the more necessary.” 12

FEATURES | Issue 92, May 2020

Though the novel explores the terrible acts human beings are capable of, at its heart it is a richly compelling love story. The central relationship in The Mercies – and the most positive, life-affirming relationship of the novel – is between two women, Vardø-born Maren and newcomer Ursa. Though they come from different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, both are women of the 1600s and Millwood Hargrave takes seriously the need to frame their desire through their historical period. “One of my pet hates is a historical novel where the characters are out of time,” she notes. “Feminism, lesbianism, bisexuality – these were not concepts in 1600s Norway! But lesbians have always existed, because desire has always existed. So my challenge was to allow these two women to love and desire each other, without them having a framework for it to be possible. It is inconceivable to Maren that she desires Ursa, and so she imagines herself a man. Her language when she talks about lust is firmly placed against the accepted framework. And Ursa does not recognise her feelings for what they are, possibly ever.” Though the language of desire has to be considered in its historical context, the feeling itself is something that transcends time, and it was this approach which helped to depict the period: “It was difficult to find concrete evidence of how these people lived,” Millwood Hargrave says, “what they ate, what they wore, what they burned for fuel (there are no trees this far north). Their working- class lives, lived so far at the edge of society, are not of great interest to historians and so are mostly unremarked. But I gathered what information I could, and otherwise relied on what is unchanged throughout human history: how hunger, desire, fear, cold, and joy, feel. This is a story told through the body: it is in third person but you are inside my main characters’ bodies. You feel their bellies ache, their hearts quicken. The Mercies is about place, politics, history – but it is a human story above all.” And this ‘human’ focus is unmistakeable in the novel’s title, which was changed from Vardø to The Mercies at quite a late stage, as Millwood Hargrave explains: “For a long time I couldn’t quite place what the key elements of the book were outside of place. But then this phrase, ‘the mercies of God’, kept popping up, and I realised this was the perfect title. Mercy is something loaded with power imbalance. We can choose to extend it, or withhold it. Too often it seems we do the latter.” The novel offers a salutary tale of the past, which speaks loudly to our present. Katherine Stansfield’s latest historical crime novel, The Mermaid’s Call, set in Cornwall in 1845, is out now (Allison & Busby, 2019). She is also one half of the fantasy crime-writing duo D. K. Fields.

TAKING UP A CHALLENGE BY MYFANWY COOK

In writing their novel Wolf (Skyhorse, 2020), Herbert J. Stern and Alan A. Winter were faced with two major hurdles. The first was maximizing and sharing their writing skills. The second was depicting highly controversial characters from relatively recent history.

Stern is a former US Attorney and US District Court Judge, who has also served as a judge of the United States Court of Berlin, while Winter combines periodontistry with novel writing. “We met over forty years ago and over time, we became friends. As each of us worked on our own books, we would share manuscripts with each other and ask for comments.” Winter explains: “Eventually Herb suggested we write a book together. Herb had been doing research into Hitler’s life and had uncovered information he believed was largely ignored by historians. He wanted to write a novel that would begin when Hitler was hospitalized for hysterical blindness at the end of World War I. Herb’s idea was for a fictional character to befriend Hitler at the hospital through whom Hitler’s personal life as he rose to power from 1918 to 1934 would be told. We researched and wrote our novel, meeting almost weekly for the next three years.” “It was always a collaboration in every sense of the word. In the end, our research led us to paths we hadn’t known existed, but made our story richer and more accurate.” From the outset they identified three critical points. Firstly, they note, “We had to start when Hitler was blinded in a gas attack in the last days of World War I. The hospital had to be understaffed and overflowing with patients. It was logical (to us) that Hitler would need a fellow patient to help him navigate the daily routines. So, believing such a man could exist, we created our fictional character, Friedrich, who forged a bond with Hitler. As a character, Friedrich was strengthened by having amnesia … a tabula rasa. As such, he allowed us to follow all that happened to Hitler in those early years from the time the Nazi Party was formed until the day he became dictator of Germany.” Secondly, because they wanted to be as accurate as possible, they realized that the story had to be chronological. Thirdly, they explain, “because we knew the direction the story had to take, we did not stop to outline it or even write a synopsis of where it would lead. We had history as our template.” When researching, they “did not automatically accept footnotes,” but they “verified them by going to original sources.” As research progressed, the authors say, “We ran into difficulties when the original sources were in German. Since neither of us read German, we hired a translator, Alan Wallis. This proved invaluable.” They also found primary sources in interviews by the noted historian, John W. Toland and in post-WWII interviews conducted by Michael Musmanno, who they authors say “sought out everyone he could find who had worked directly with Hitler.”

Before commencing writing, they hadn’t envisaged any major obstacle to co-writing a novel. One thing they hadn’t anticipated: “Our notions of an historical novel were different. Our writing styles are different, and we had differences of opinion about how much exposition should be part of the story.” They addressed this challenge for historical character by, they note, “using their original words. We described their physicality as best we could. We did not give them attributes they didn’t have or take away those they did have. We are particularly proud that when we needed a new character to help move the story forward, we didn’t just make one up out of convenience but searched the historical record for persons from that same place and time who would enhance our story. Aside from Bernhard Weiss, two other notable characters were portrayed in the book as they were in real life: Kitty Schmidt, who ran the most famous bordello in Berlin, and Lilian Harvey, who was not only Germany’s favourite film star, but all of Europe’s. Both will reprise their roles in the next book, as will the Jewish gangster, Longie Zwillman, who was very real.” They discovered, the authors note, “that Hitler went to great lengths to conceal his mental illness and the fact that he preyed on teenaged girls. Not only did he succeed in erecting a curtain that shielded the German people from these aspects of his life, but historians, to this very day, have failed to lift that curtain to reveal what was behind it. We felt it was time to tear down that curtain.” They suggest that readers might “look at biographies of Hitler and see if there is mention of him being in a mental ward at the end of the Great War. Some might go so far as to say he had been exposed to a gas attack and was temporarily blinded, but they stop there. None mention the doctor who treated Hitler. Certainly, there is no mention of an eye doctor in any biography treating Hitler. Nor do any mention that a psychiatrist treated him.”1 Winter points out, “Two men did find out: Professor Rudolph Binion of Tufts and John W. Toland. Both made their discoveries and worked together in the early 1970s. Rather than tell these truths, most Hitler biographers have been content to repeat Hitler’s own description of his blindness as reported in his autobiography, Mein Kampf. A careful reading of Hitler’s own words reveal that his blindness was mental, not organic. We felt strongly that rather than censor history, it should be presented it happened.” The authors believe that “another reason for exploring this period in Hitler’s life was that he has been described in various ways as a subhuman, un-human, asocial, a black hole, incapable of having

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a friend or being in a meaningful relationship. Nothing could be further from the truth. We wrote Wolf to make certain that the world would know that the embodiment of evil can be wrapped in a man who loves women, is loyal to his friends, and is admired by many.” References: 1. http://www.notesonwolf.com | Stern and Winter’s 115 pages of historical notes explaining what they have uncovered. Myfanwy Cook is a prize-winning short fiction writer. She is also HNR New Voices Editor and author of Historical Fiction Writing: A Practical Guide and Tool-kit and Creative Writing Cocktails.

EVACUATION BY SALLY ZIGMOND

Sally Zigmond talks to Elisabeth Gifford about The Lost Lights of St Kilda When I opened the first page of Secrets of the Sea House back in 2014, I knew I’d found a historical novelist to treasure. I subsequently read Return to Four Winds, and The Good Doctor of Warsaw. Revisiting Scotland for The Lost Lights of St Kilda (Corvus, 2020), I think author Elisabeth Gifford has written her best novel yet. It is hard to believe that anyone could fail to be moved by the people who once lived in this archipelago of St Kilda, one hundred miles west off the mainland of Scotland. By 1930, the time had come for the heart-breaking decision for its thirteen men, thirteen children and ten women to leave. So, at five a.m. on August 1933, they boarded HMS Harebell and departed, never to return. There are now strict restrictions on human visitation. Only seven years after that momentous departure, a much larger and more well-known evacuation took place from 27 May to 4 April 1940 – The Evacuation of Dunkirk. What few know, and I certainly didn’t, was that the 51st Highland Division of the British Army were left behind (some say, abandoned) in France to fight the Germans alongside the French. On 12 June, 10,000 Scotsmen were captured and imprisoned. Some escaped southwards and over the treacherous mountain passes of the Pyrenees into Spain with the help of the French Resistance. Many were killed, but some succeeded in escape. But who were the heroes and who the traitors? All historical novel writers research the true facts before they can weave their fictional magic. The Lost Lights of St Kilda contains a wealth of historical, cultural, archaeological, geological and botanical detail. I asked Gifford how she managed to organise her research: “I think I read just about every book there was on St Kilda, but the first-hand accounts were the most helpful. It was the same with the Second World War story, for which I read many biographies of escaping. Once I had read as much as I could find about the two periods, then I let my characters move about as they wished, and since we only saw what they saw, the things outside their experience were not essential to the story and had to be left out. However, I drew up pages and pages of notes, charts, time lines and lists so that I could know, for example, at any given time in the story, which birds or weather or crofting activities would have happened in the St Kilda story according to the time of year. In the Second World War section, 14

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I had to keep an extensive timeline of actual events to make sure that the story reflected what really happened. By the time I had finished, I had pulled together so much information on the last inhabitants of St Kilda that I was able to find the names and faces for the last family in each croft house and I am giving that to the Scottish National Trust, who now manage the abandoned village, for a visitor’s leaflet.” With all this information to hand, I wondered whether Gifford had plans to write other novels about St Kilda, perhaps when it was a thriving, self-sufficient community further back in the mists of antiquity? “Sadly no, as then, I feel, I would not be able to reimagine that period so fully as there is less day-to-day information the further back you go. Twenty years ago, I was fortunate to spend time with some of the elderly crofters on the nearest inhabited island to St Kilda, Harris, people who would have broadly had the same Hebridean Gaelic culture and outlook, and this helped fill in the characters of St Kilda for me. I was fortunate to catch that moment before time moved on, where the next generation had less immediate contact with the old Gaelic customs.” Never having visited the west coast of Scotland, the sights and sounds of St Kilda captivated me, in particular Gaelic psalm singing. I asked her whether she would provide an audiobook. “For a previous book I produced a video with some of the Gaelic psalm singing set to a background of folk music by Capercaillie, with their permission.1 If you visit Lewis and Harris today, you can still hear the unforgettable Gaelic line singing of psalms at Sunday worship. The book is going to come out as an audiobook and I had to phone a historian friend on Harris – Bill Lawson, consultant genealogist at the Seallam! Visitor Centre on the island – to put him in touch with the recording artist so that he could help them with how the Gaelic place names were pronounced.” With so many details of archaeological, geographical and geological information, many authors regard a glossary as a necessary addition. Had she considered adding one, I asked? “The story is rooted in a very specific culture and time, as well as the student’s study topics being esoteric, so the unusual words carry an atmosphere even if not totally clear. I think perhaps part of the charm of St Kilda is the feeling that it is a place that is other to us, a Gaelic culture now lost, which we can still visit in the form of a book, but something precious was lost when the people of St Kilda were evacuated.” The well-rounded main characters of this atmospheric novel will all stay with me for some time. Initially, Chrissie falls in love with the wrong man. Later she wants to prevent her daughter, Rachel Anne, from learning about the past. Naturally, the girl resents this. I admired the novel’s main protagonist, Fred, for the way he remains steadfast to his love and is determined to find her after many years. He is the novel’s hero, but it wasn’t for him I cried when I turned the final page. References: 1. Gaelic psalm singing can be found on YouTube. Capercaillie’s “Gaelic Psalm Theme” was used in the promotional video of Secrets of the Sea House (also YouTube). A member of and reviewer for The Historical Novel Society from its earliest days, Sally Zigmond has published many short stories, two novels and a novella. Her most recent novel is The Lark Ascending (The Conrad Press).

I'M FORTUNATE that my protagonist very much presented herself full-formed, from her extraordinarily ugly bonnet to the poisonous darts she (allegedly) keeps in her boot heels.

A WORLD OF VICTORIAN ODDNESS BY BETHANY LATHAM

Jess Kidd’s latest novel, Things in Jars (Atria US, 2020 / Canongate UK, 2019), is fascinatingly complex to categorize – my best stab was to call it an Irish magical realist historical mystery. Kidd was kind, saying this was “pretty accurate.” She elaborates: “Things in Jars is a jarful really, bringing together different genres, the detective element driven by logic and deduction while magical realism tends towards folklore, oral traditions and the supernatural. I hoped this blend of genres could help me to delve into the setting and the historical period. London in 1863 was a place of grit and magic – poverty and wealth, innovation and experimentation, strange science and curiosities. Into this mix, I added the Irish experience in London and introduced some Irish folklore. I hoped that all these ingredients could bring to life a rich Victorian metropolis.” The result is immersion in an imaginative, fully-realized Victorian world, due in no small part to Kidd’s research into the period. “I read Victorian fiction and non-fiction, especially novels or accounts written around the time my book is set,” Kidd says. “I also looked at historical novels to see how other writers built their worlds. My previous novels, Himself and Mr. Flood’s Last Resort (US) / The Hoarder (UK), are set in 1950s and 1970s Ireland and contemporary West London, so Things in Jars required quite a hop back in time. The worlds of surgery and the circus were of particular interest, so I looked at accounts of early operations, old surgical instruments or read about the lives of circus performers. Being London-based, I was also able to wander around the city. A local historian and map expert helped me to trace an outline of Bridie’s world, using many of the landmarks still here today. I found inspiration at sites such as The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret. After several visits to this, Europe’s oldest surviving operating theatre, I wrote the surgical scenes. I also contacted historians to ask strange questions, for example, to check the tattoo designs on a dead, bare-knuckle fighter called Ruby Doyle!” The Bridie Kidd refers to is her red-haired, sharp-witted protagonist, Bridie Devine. Bridie’s life story has been a varied one, but when we come upon her, she’s been asked to look into the disappearance of Christabel, six-year-old daughter of Sir Edmund Athelstan Berwick. There is something different about Christabel, but Berwick isn’t forthcoming, serving as more hindrance than help in tracing his daughter. When Bridie encounters Ruby Doyle in a cemetery, things become further complicated as this restless ghost claims Bridie knows him, if she’ll simply trawl her memory deep enough, and he insists on accompanying her and helping with the case. A central plot point in the novel is the Irish legend of the merrow, a darker, more complex version of the traditional mermaid myth. Kidd explains, “I first read about it in Thomas Crofton Croker’s Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland, published in 1825. The image of a woman transformed from a creature of the sea to a

domesticated mortal is found in other folklores, such as the shapeshifting selkie. This metamorphosis, in most cases, is not plain sailing. The merrow comes to shore and will take a human mate, as long as he claims and hides her magic cap. Without her magic cap she is unable to return to the sea and will live out her life as wife, mother and homemaker. But if she finds her magic cap – all hell breaks loose! I interpreted the merrow as the wilder, angrier cousin of the mermaid, who has become quite tame in some of her incarnations.” It is the legend of the merrow that offers entrée into some of the most fascinating aspects of 19th century society. “Bringing the Irish merrow myth to Victorian London,” says Kidd, “allowed me to delve into the dark world of the showmen and the collectors. This was a time that bridged the popularity of cabinets of curiosities with the later collecting and taxonomic frenzy that followed on the discoveries of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. A merrow in this time and place, with the public demand for the new and the spectacular, could become more than a myth – she could become a commodity.” Far from the staid stereotype of the Victorians, Kidd notes that many were “free-thinking and experimental and curious about the world.” They were willing to take risks. “I loved finding out,” Kidd shares, “that when the first stretch of the London Underground was built in 1863, some commentators believed that a journey at such breakneck speed (20 mph) could age you decades or realign your organs!” Yet still, for a single woman like Bridie, Victorian society could be terribly restricting. “I wanted Bridie to have access to all areas – from the Rookery slums to the grandest of drawing rooms,” Kidd says. “Here was an obstacle for the indomitable Bridie to face. Researching the finer points of Victorian society offered a solution – Bridie would have to adopt disguises!” This she does, allowing her to rub elbows with everyone from aristocrats to the slums’ worst denizens. These villains, near-comical in their very loathsomeness, feel at-once Dickensian and fresh. As Kidd says, “The characters Dickens writes, even when glimpsed briefly, are entirely vivid. They are brought to life on the page by the way they look, sound and move. I wanted to populate my version of Victorian London with a cast of characters you’d want to follow, including wonderfully evil baddies.” It isn’t just the baddies who benefit from Kidd’s ability to vividly sketch her characters. “I’m fortunate,” Kidd notes, “that my protagonist very much presented herself full-formed, from her extraordinarily ugly bonnet to the poisonous darts she (allegedly) keeps in her boot heels. Bridie is very much the product of her past, and the skills she possesses (no one reads a body or a crime scene quite like her) are a result of her experiences. She’s lived life as a Dublin orphan, a resurrection man’s sidekick, an anatomist’s apprentice and trained with an experimental toxicologist. My biggest challenge was keeping up with her!” Speaking of keeping up with Bridie, as a reader who absolutely devoured this book, could I, perhaps, look forward to further adventures with Bridie Devine? Kidd stoked my hopes: “I would love to write more adventures for Bridie – there are certainly characters waiting in the wings and a world of Victorian oddness to explore!” Her next novel, however, “is set in a very different place and time, also historical. It’s a remarkable true story told through the eyes of two children centuries apart. In a departure from adult fiction, my first children’s book, Everyday Magic, is also out this summer.” Bethany Latham is HNR’s Managing Editor.

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woman who has lost everything. Readers will be eager for book 2.

REVIEWS ONLINE EXCLUSIVES Due to an ever-increasing number of books for review and space constraints within HNR, some selected fiction reviews and all nonfiction reviews are now published as online exclusives. To view these reviews and much more, please visit www.historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews

ANCIENT EGYPT

SAVED BY HER ENEMY WARRIOR

Greta Gilbert, Harlequin Historical, 2020, $6.50, pb, 283pp, 9781335505385

Ancient Egypt: Pharaoh Tausret has died, and her adoring lady-in-waiting and confidant, Aya, has been entombed with her – in violation of all laws – to leave the way to the throne clear for the High Priest. For Aya knows a secret that would keep the royal lineage pure: the location of Tausret’s heir. A secret that she thinks will die with her in her beloved Pharaoh’s tomb. There’s another person in the tomb: Intef, who’s there to tunnel his way out so those who want another candidate for Pharaoh, Rameses, on the throne, can use Tausret’s tomb treasures to fund their cause. While Aya is more than willing to get out of the tomb, she doesn’t trust Intef or his intentions – and refuses to be distracted by their sizzling physical attraction to each other… and, once free of Tausret’s tomb, Aya and Intef must learn what’s more important than their love and desire for one another. This is a historical romance, rather than a historical novel, and it’s a doozey. Pharaohs and High Priests; tombs, palaces, intrigue; courage, honor, and betrayal; passion, sacrifice, and love: all unite to produce a hot and spicy read. (If you’re claustrophobic, you may wish to avoid this book, as a great deal of it takes place in the burial chambers and corridors of Pharaoh Tausret’s tomb, and it gets stuffy in there!) India Edghill

CLASSICAL

ANTONIUS: Second in Command

Brook Allen, Dawg House Books, 2019, $16.95, pb, 424pp, 9781732958524

Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony) is often overshadowed by Gaius Julius Caesar. But Antonius wasn’t a second-rate Caesar; he was a great man in his own right, and it’s refreshing to read a novel told from his point of view. Second in Command, the second of Allen’s Antonius trilogy, spans the time period 16

Misty Urban

from Antonius’s first appointment to Caesar’s staff to Caesar’s assassination, showing us the familiar events as they affected Antonius and his hopes for Rome. While Caesar was the greatest of great men, he wasn’t easy to work for (or probably to be around), and as Antonius matures and begins to climb the political ladder himself, he soon realizes he can be Caesar’s man – or Rome’s. Trying to balance these two loyalties is impossible, especially as political tensions seem to be constantly on the brink of civil war. Nothing in the novel is unfamiliar to the those interested in Republican and early Imperial Rome, but the events are clear to the modern reader while staying true to the history. The prose is workmanlike without being boring, and the author manages to keep the many similar Latin names sorted out for the reader. Second in Command is a worthy addition to any Roman bookshelf. India Edghill

THE QUEEN OF WARRIORS

Zenobia Neil, Hypatia Books, 2019, $15.99, pb, 411pp, 9781077692688

After three years of searching for remnants of the army she lost in a crushing defeat, Alexandra of Sparta, the Queen of Warriors, returns to a Persian city she once conquered and is taken prisoner by its king. The Golden Lynx of Rhagae has a grudge against Alexandra, and he means for her to pay for past humiliations in kind. As she faces surprising revelations in her prison cell in 243 BCE, Alexandra also relives her previous ten years of battle and betrayal. When she learns the truth about her captor, including the tortures of his recent past, she’s left in the end with a choice she never imagined. Readers expecting a tale of war and vengeance should be aware that the bedroom figures far more prominently than the battlefield. The Golden Lynx’s tortures involve an erotic game of cat-and-mouse, and Alexandra’s flashbacks dwell on her love affairs with Mithra, the Babylonian concubine she frees, and Aristos, the Persian noble she enslaves. Alexandra’s formidable reputation is largely constructed by her cunning mentor, Nicandor, and her success rests on her band of warrior elite. The Queen of Warriors’ real journey is toward self-awareness, humility, and the embrace of complete domestication, making the tale essentially a romance. That said, the novel is exciting and wellplotted, with surprising reveals that keep the action swift and memorable scenes rendered in crisp, nimble prose. Fully imagined characters spring forth from an intriguing backdrop, the cosmopolitan Persian Empire disintegrating in the wake of Alexander the Great. Neil weaves Greek, Persian, Jewish, and Nubian culture into the classic tale of a great hero’s fall, made more poignant in that the hero is a skilled, ambitious

REVIEWS | Issue 92, May 2020

BIBLICAL

UNTIL THE MOUNTAINS FALL

Connilyn Cossette, Bethany House, 2019, $15.99, pb, 352pp, 9780764234064

“If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her.” – Deuteronomy 25:5 ESV 1380 BC. A month after her husband’s death, Rivkah is betrothed to her husband’s brother, Malakhi. Rivkah feels like a brood mare, lost and unheard by her family. Little does she know that Malakhi has been in love with her for years. He longs to make her happy, but Rivkah only sees the boy who teased her growing up. Unable to make her father understand, Rivkah runs away with another woman fleeing an unwanted betrothal, but Rivkah doesn’t know how this act will ripple through Malakhi’s family and drudge up an old family conflict. Along the path Rivkah finds herself traveling, can she find a way back to God? And as an Aramean invasion looms, can Malakhi’s love survive the heartache of abandonment when Rivkah and her family need him the most? Cossette’s next installment in the Cities of Refuge series revolves around Deuteronomy 25:5 intermixed with one of Jesus’s parables. Rivkah’s boldness and views on Torah law feel slightly modern, but I think this is very subtle and works to connect with modern audiences. Cossette masterfully explores complex Biblical questions and provides fresh perspective to the Old Testament. Narrative switches between Malakhi and Rivkah help encompass the broader landscape and keep the plot engaging. Rivkah has a love of writing, and I enjoyed exploring how women could occupy the role of a scribe in ancient society. Cossette’s prose is engaging and beautiful while employing heartfelt themes of mercy and redemption. Recommended. J. Lynn Else

KING’S SHADOW

Angela Hunt, Bethany House, 2019, $15.99, pb, 372pp, 9780764233364

[Note: The Salome in this book is not the dancing Salome of the “head of John the Baptist” and seven veils fame. This Salome is the sister of Herod the Great.] Judea, 37 BCE. Herod the Great wins out in the deadly struggle to be crowned king of the Jews and persuades the Romans that he will be their loyal client-king. He’s also about the last candidate left standing. Herod has the throne – now he must keep it. Aiding him is his sister Salome, who will stop at nothing to support her brother’s ambition. Salome’s maid, Zara,

is Salome’s mirror: a truly pious Jew, kind, and truthful. Despite the difference in their stations, princess and maid become friends (insomuch as Salome has friends), and as the years pass, they help each other survive the often deadly court. But as Herod’s ambition and paranoia grow, he lashes out at anyone he even suspects of disloyalty. (As Salome muses on page 224, “Herod did not seem to mind HaShem sitting on the throne of heaven, but if for one moment he thought Adonai wanted to sit on the throne of Judea, Herod would mount a war against heaven itself.”) Both Salome and Zara must walk a treacherous path that may lead to safety – or to death. King’s Shadow is another engrossing read from Angela Hunt, who knows how to bring a Biblical time period to vivid life. The book’s only real problem can’t be helped: many of the historical characters have the same name, and far too many of those names begin with A! (There are two people named Aristobolus; fortunately one of them dies fairly fast. And “Alexandra” and “Alexander” seem to have been the “Jennifer and Jason” of the Judean kingdom.) However, Hunt weaves her way through the history and the names with skill and grace. India Edghill

1ST CENTURY

THE BOOK OF LONGINGS

Sue Monk Kidd, Viking, 2020, $28.00/C$37.00, hb, 418pp, 9780525429760 / Tinder, 2020, £20.00, hb, 432pp, 9781472232496

Kidd has taken a concept which could have been seriously strained – imagining the life of the woman who married Jesus in 1stcentury Judea – and has created a remarkable character in Ana, an educated girl who longs to have a voice in a world where women are barely allowed any space of their own. At the start of the novel, Ana enjoys a relatively privileged existence because her father is the chief scribe for Herod Antipas, a puppet of the Roman occupiers. She is allowed both an education and the privilege of writing, and takes it very seriously. Encouraged by her aunt Yaltha, who has recently arrived after a period of service in the cult of Isis, and has proto-feminist ideas, the 14-year-old Ana struggles to resist both her parents’ attempts to arrange a marriage and Herod’s desire to make her his concubine. She meets the 19-year-old Nazarene Jesus, to whom she is drawn immediately. Kidd presents the man who would become

the Messiah in an affectionate, down-toearth manner; her emphasis is on the textures of daily life in the region, not on theological questions. The reader is rewarded with an absorbing narrative of love in a time of political and social turmoil, as Ana must allow her beloved husband to follow his mission while she herself attempts to protect herself and her aunt from misogynistic authorities who wish to punish her for trying to direct her own fate. Her courage as she travels between Judea and Alexandria, her compassion for the other women she gathers around her, and her fierce intelligence culminate in the community she creates out of the ruins of her husband’s fate. This is a compelling and beautifully written novel that can be equally cherished by the devout and the skeptic alike. Kristen McDermott

2ND CENTURY

THE PEREGRINE’S ODYSSEY

Michael Kleinfall, Independently published, 2019, $15.99, pb, 424pp, 9781691260515

During the first 20 years of the 2nd century AD, Gaius Segusiavus Peregrinus is torque-bearer of the Gallic clan based near Lugdunum (Lyon, France). As master of the family’s enterprise of shipping cereal and luxury, he roams Mare Nostrum, visiting the trading posts in Ostia (Rome), Carthago, Alexandria, Antiochia, and Ephesos. His faithful wife, Fionna, delights him whenever he is back at the Villa of the Three Crows, but his sons and nephew disappoint him, and Gaius wonders if anyone will prove worthy of inheriting the family torque when he dies. Gaius’s lifelong friend, the Jew Ignatius, becomes a member of the illicit sect known as Christiani. Together, they are instrumental in rescuing the aged Apostle Ioannes from his exile on the island of Patmos and bringing him to the community of believers in Ephesos. Through these towering characters, along with historical letters by the latercanonized St. Ignatius of Antiochia, readers gain insights into the caring community of followers of Iesous Christos, their faith, and the persecution they suffer. Geographic and historical details are meticulously accurate and very informative. Circumstances and prospects fluctuate under the Roman emperors Domitian, Nerva and Trajan, but all the while the Christians live under the threat of arrest and execution. This is a long book, unnecessarily drawn out by recapitulating key episodes and including too many named characters who play only minor roles; in places the prose tends toward the pedantic, and dialogue can be unclear. However, the family tree, maps and appendix with an afterword and a summary of the principal characters – historical and fictitious – are very helpful. Viktor Steiner

4TH CENTURY

THE BEAR KING

James Wilde, Bantam Press, 2020, £16.99, hb, 318pp, 9781787632165

It’s AD 375 and the onset of the Dark Ages of Britain. Rome’s legions are leaving, and the Pendragon line is sheltering in a fortress in the far South West. The mad Queen Gaia with her son, the pretender to the Kingship, is slowly approaching, recruiting barbarian mercenaries from tribes driven out by the Pendragon and the legions not long ago. What is needed is the people to unify against the approaching darkness. A raider brings words of hope – Lucanus the Pendragon may still live! This, plus word of an ancient, magical treasure that might inspire the people, so the loyal band of warriors – the Grim Wolves – set out to recover the sacred object in a desperate grasp for survival. In this intriguing prequel to the Arthurian saga, Wilde tells of a different kind of power play, of ancient sorceries, faiths and insane vendettas. Vivid in description and breathless in action, it sounds not like ‘known’ history but ‘hidden’ truth. Last part in a trilogy, this novel can be enjoyed for its own sake. Alan Cassady-Bishop

6TH CENTURY

FORTUNE’S CHILD

James Conroyd Martin, Hussar Quill Press, 2019, $29.99, hb, 398pp, 9781734004304

Palace scribe Stephen, hauled out of prison, is tasked with writing the Empress Theodora’s life story before she dies, and out of love, he agrees. The unfolding narrative entwines Theodora’s third-person history with Stephen’s first-person recollection of his own adventures, no less interesting. Martin adopts the main elements of Theodora’s life established in contemporary accounts: daughter of a bear keeper, she rises to fame as an actress in risqué roles, travels with an older lover to the governor’s outpost in Libya, and eventually returns to Constantinople and catches the eye of the emperor’s nephew, Justinian. But Martin fills in these outlines with enthralling detail; his Theodora harbors deep attachments and lofty ambitions, is thwarted in her career as a dancer, betrayed by her lover Hecebolus, and converted, after an incarceration in Alexandria, to the beliefs of the Monophysites. She is haunted, also, by the illegitimate children she abandons. Stephen’s life is likewise a series of harrowing adventures as he passes from the tutelage of a Persian magus to slavers who sell him to a palace guard. His devotion to Theodora is poignant if unrequited, and as she is installed in the Grand Palace as Justinian’s mistress, wife, then empress and co-ruler, they share a special confidence as well as the enmity of the palace historian Procopius. Martin’s 6th-century Byzantium hums with life, and his polished prose captures the fashions, the food, the social strata, the religious variety—like the stylites, who live atop pillars—and the cultural diversity of an empire

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that stretches around the Mediterranean. If the imaginative grip slips when Theodora and Justinian finally meet, it may be because the characters’ conflicts become limited to palace intrigues. A planned second book, hopefully of the same quality, will cover Theodora’s 21year rule, completing the life of this remarkable woman. Misty Urban

9TH CENTURY

WOLF OF WESSEX

Matthew Harffy, Aria, 2019, £18.99/$29.95/ C$39.99, hb, 352pp, 9781838932817

To anyone who is a follower of Matthew Harffy’s Bernicia Chronicles, The Wolf of Wessex is a significant departure, although it retains many of the same features, including, of course, being a good story. The protagonist, Dunston, is an aged warrior, though his age is never made explicit. What comes across are the ravages of age. Once a great warrior, he has withdrawn from the world and made his life as a hermit, sharing it only with his dog Odin, deep in the forests of Wessex. His life might have continued in this way, had he not been dragged back into action when he discovers the mutilated body of a brutally slain trader. Shortly afterwards Dunstan discovers the dead man’s daughter, Aedwen, cowering from him. The unlikely pair form a bond which grows only slowly as Dunston tries to make up his mind whether to withdraw once more, or to step up to the challenge. He is a warrior, so of course only one decision can be made. Dunston and Aedwen travel through the wild countryside of Wessex, losing his dog along the way, gradually exposing those who had killed her father. The story is peopled with a host of fascinating characters. The ending is both exciting and satisfying. The book does not flaunt its clearly extensive research, but the research colours almost every page. At times it is almost as if the tale is told by someone who lived during the 9th century. The Wolf of Wessex is advertised as a standalone novel, but there is room, should Harffy wish it, to extend the story of Dunston and Aedwen into further books. I, for one, would welcome it. David Penny

12TH CENTURY

HOSTAGE TO FORTUNE

Sarah Hawkswood, Allison & Busby, 2020, £8.99, pb, 288pp, 9780749024789

It’s the time of the Anarchy in 1144; Bradecote is now a wet-behind-the-ears undersheriff, and Catchpoll is the experienced Serjeant tasked with babysitting him. To go with his promotion, Bradecote has permission to marry the love of his life, Christina; but first, she wants to go on pilgrimage to ask for a fruitful union. She’ll be safe as houses on her own, she’ll be travelling with a party of monks. It should all be straightforward, except that a sadist with 18

a hatred of Benedictines has recently got bored with stirring up chaos in France and has brought his band over to England to try a spot of forgery. Hugh has to find Christina whilst she is still whole, physically and mentally… Generally speaking, murder mystery is not my favourite genre; I find they can sometimes be a little formulaic. However, I’d come across this series and this author before – Hostage to Fortune is the 4th book in the Bradecote and Catchpoll series, so I was looking forward to it. I wasn’t disappointed. The plot tears along without a hint of formula, and the characters are sympathetically drawn and believable. The author’s historical background shines through – this is one of my favourite eras of history, and I’m picky about the detail; this is flawless, nuanced, rich. If you’re looking for something reminiscent of the Ellis Peters books, but in a lay context and therefore with the opportunity for strong female leads, you’ll enjoy this. And of course the others in the series! Nicky Moxey

LIONHEART

Ben Kane, Orion, 2020, £14.99, hb, 376pp, 9781409173472

I know Ben Kane as a writer in the Roman era, where his fast-paced, impeccably researched books are a joy to read – especially if you don’t mind a bit of blood! I was very interested to see what he’d make of the 12th century, an era I know well myself; the executive summary is that I wanted to read the next book immediately! And it’s going to be ages yet! The book opens in 1179; Henry II is at the height of his power, and in Ireland, a young lad pays the price of his father’s rebellion by being taken as hostage. Ferdia ends up in the castle of Striguil, first as a prisoner, then as a page. Then by great good luck he saves the life of Duke Richard, the future king, and the wider stage opens to him… The book is set amongst the noble cast of the period, and the Young King, William Marshal, John, and a glorious panoply of strong female characters appear. The terrible conflicts between Henry’s children and with France form the background as Ferdia struggles to find a place in the squire hierarchy despite his tainted heritage, and a nasty set of bullies. He’s a thoroughly believable character, with a very satisfying story arc. If you’re a fan of Ben Kane’s Roman work, and/or of the Plantagenets themselves, you’ll love this book; the history is just as solid, the storyline and characters as engaging, the action as fast-paced. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you about the wait time for the sequel!

REVIEWS | Issue 92, May 2020

Nicky Moxey

A BOND UNDONE

Jin Yong (trans. Gigi Chang), St. Martin’s, 2020, $17.99, pb, 525pp, 9781250220684

Films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon introduced Western audiences to the wuxia genre, in which martial arts meet mythic fantasy and romance in epic adventures. Beloved modern author Jin Yong (pen name of Hong Kong journalist Louis Cha) first serialized in the 1950s his tales of sworn brothers Guo Jing and Yang Kang, caught up in the conflict between the Jin and Song empires in 12th-13th century China. These stories have been adapted into graphic novels, stage plays, TV, and film many times in China but were only recently translated into English. The first volume, A Hero Born, introduced readers to the protagonists and their romantic partners, clever and resourceful Lotus Huang and long-suffering, loyal Mercy Mu. All four are mentored and trained by a variety of fascinating shifus, or martial arts masters, outsized personalities all. The second volume focuses on Guo’s efforts to complete his martial training while struggling to evade the rivalries of the various shifus wishing to use the young couple as pawns. It has all the rich description, humor, and action of the first, but is improved by its focus on the multitalented, mischievous Lotus, the perfect foil to her best friend and fiancé. They are an adorable couple, open-hearted, honest, and curious, their partnership designed to express yin/yang harmony, but also evoking real, human teenagers on the adventure of a lifetime. Gigi Chang’s translation isn’t as elegant as Anna Holmwood’s (for A Hero Born), but it handles the kung fu action energetically and captures the wit of the original. The detailed description of martial arts contests can become repetitive to anyone not looking for insights into the tradition of jianghu (martial arts) culture and its Taoist philosophical roots. But the adventures, like all good tales of chivalry and magic, are addictive. This volume, like the first, ends on a cliffhanger and will inspire the reader to look forward to the two remaining volumes. Kristen McDermott

13TH CENTURY THE SILKEN ROSE

Carol McGrath, Accent, 2020, £9.99, pb, 374pp, 9781786157270

Thirteen-year-old Ailenor of Provence travels to England to become the wife of King Henry III. The King showers her with gifts and is captivated by his new wife. As she waits to grow old enough to consummate her marriage and bear an heir, life appears to be like a love story full of rose bowers to Ailenor, who has been reared in the troubadour courts. She takes Rosalind, a talented embroideress, under her wing. The king’s widowed sister Nell has taken a vow of chastity, but Ailenor soon discerns that she is in love with Simon de Montfort. However, as Ailenor grows up, life becomes more sharpedged, and the queen has to become a skilled

political navigator and manipulator of court intrigue and jealousies. She supports and cajoles her husband through years of fraught discord with his brother-in-law, Simon, and through war with France. The story of Ailenor’s reign is told through the voices of three female protagonists: the queen herself, Rosalind and, occasionally, Nell. McGrath’s thorough research has enabled her to create a rich context for the story. The novel is especially vivid in its conjuring of medieval food and textiles. The sequence of events is chronologically narrated, and history parades through the pages but, at times, it is a little lacking in drama and denouement. The novel does not always succeed in transforming the chronicle of this fascinating history into narrative with convincing characters who are interacting with psychological and emotional depth. The Silken Rose is the first in a trilogy of novels based on three medieval queens of England who were all considered to be “she-wolves”, and McGrath undertakes the admirable task of recouping the roles of medieval women in power. Tracey Warr

convention states that winter should be a time of rest and recuperation Thomas finds life is not that simple. He and his band of men, a lethal combination of experienced, battlehardened men-at-arms and archers, are assaulting an impregnable fortress. They have been ordered to take sides in a feud between French aristocrats, fight a pitched battle in the dead of winter and protect the Prince of Wales, while a group of Teutonic knights are looking for them, seeking vengeance. With a strong plot and characters, the author brings alive the period with a thrilling story. The action sequences are well executed and exciting, without being overly graphic. This is the sixth instalment in David Gilman’s Master of War series but can be read as a stand-alone novel. A skilful writer, the author has written an exciting page turner which brings alive the comradeship as well as the hardship and callous indifference of war in a vivid, atmospheric novel. Historical fiction at its best. Mike Ashworth

15TH CENTURY

A SNAKE LIES WAITING

THE LADY OF THE RAVENS

China, 1200 or thereabouts. In this third volume in the series, earnest young martial artist Guo Jing is in a pickle. Together with two of his numerous mentors, he finds himself prisoner on the ship of dastardly Viper Ouyang, who will stop at nothing to obtain a secret kung fu manual that Guo Jing has memorised. And Viper must be thwarted, but how does one break free from a shipful of villains sailing through shark-infested waters? Oh, if only Lotus Huang – as clever as she is lovely – were here to help! What follows is a breathless, rather episodic adventure involving countless, lovingly detailed kung fu fights between members of numberless sects, clans, and schools. What I found severely lacking is any sense of period: without the couple of brief mentions of Genghis Khan and the Jin and Song dynasties, I wouldn’t have known how to place the story in time. I read that Jin Yong is a much-loved author of martial arts novels – and this is what this book is: a ripping kung fu adventure, with scant attention paid to the historical setting.

Joan Vaux, a servant to Elizabeth of York, wife of King Henry VII, is the “lady of the ravens”. The novel follows the first half of Joan’s life, and her relationships with members of the royal family and their entourage. The backdrop to the story is the aftermath of the Wars of the Roses: plots and intrigues are rife, and the throne is not secure. For much of the time Joan lives in, or close to, the Tower of London. She becomes consumed by the legend that if the ravens leave the Tower then the kingdom will fall, and she makes it her mission to ensure that the birds are protected. I found this book interesting because Tudor fiction tends to concentrate on the later monarchs, and Henry VII is comparatively neglected. Reading about the political turmoil, and the pretenders to the throne, makes it easier to understand why the next king, Henry VIII, was so desperate for an heir. Seeing the era through the eyes of a minor historical character gives a different perspective, as does the legend of the ravens (I was intrigued to discover that there is still a raven master at the Tower of London). And I liked the character of Joan, with her determination, love of learning, and ambivalence about her role as a woman. The author is planning a second book about Joan’s long and fascinating life: I look forward to reading it.

Jin Yong (trans. Anna Holmwood), MacLehose Press, 2020, £14.99, pb, 422pp, 9781784299569

Chiara Prezzavento

14TH CENTURY CROSS OF FIRE

David Gilman, Head of Zeus, 2020, £18.99, hb, 464pp, 9781788544948

Winter 1362. After years of campaigning, Thomas Blackstone, a common archer who was knighted at Crecy, has risen to become Edward III’s Master of War. Thomas is looking forward to a rest from a bloody campaign which has seen his family – apart from his son Henry – slaughtered. At a time when

Joanna Hickson, HarperCollins, 2020, £14.99, hb, 461pp, 9780008305581

Karen Warren

ROGUE MALORY

Helen Lewis, Austin Macauley, 2018, $22.95, pb, 438pp, 9781788781046

The writing of Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur as if told by Monty Python. From his cell in Newgate Prison in 1469, Malory hires impoverished scribe Montmorency Pickle to

help him edit the manuscript he’s spent his fifteen years in jail writing. As Monty dives into the work, he finds himself ensnared by Malory’s sly machinations along with a host of other amusing characters, including stationer Jack Worms, loyal knight Sir Anthony Tanner, and saucy harlot Plump Poll. While haggling with Sir Tom over sections of Le Morte and their parallels to contemporary life, and learning Malory’s eventful history from loyal servant Pom, poor Monty gets caught up to his neck in the fomenting rebellion of the Earl of Warwick and Duke of Clarence against Yorkist King Edward IV. Lewis delights in portraying her hero as an unrepentant rascal, and most of the scenes, over-salted with strong language, exist mainly to illustrate what a colorful character Sir Tom is. As background to Sir Tom’s antics, the book offers lively detail about life in 15thcentury London and the murky politics of the Wars of the Roses. The comedy ranges from the ribald to the absurd, as instanced in a frame narrative in which St. Peter grills Sir Tom before the gates of heaven with an account of just how many Deadly Sins he committed. Readers who don’t mind lengthy stretches of dialogue, caricatured characters, tangled plots, or ubiquitous expletives will enjoy this exuberant and often entertaining account of how one of the most popular and enduring pieces of English literature came to be. Misty Urban

CELESTINA’S BURNINGS

Annemarie Schiavi Pedersen, Literary Wanderlust, 2020, $17.95, pb, 400pp, 9781942856436

Witch-hunting was common in 15th-century Florence. It could conveniently be combined with another favourite activity—bonfires. Once caught, tried and tortured witches were burned for the entertainment and edification of the people. Celestina, working in the bakery on the Via Scalia in 1491, hears the Montenina bell ring to signify the death of not one witch but three. She is drawn out into the street despite her grandmother’s protests and encounters a crowd celebrating the arrival of the Reform. It is the youth of Florence gathering into an informal army to seek and destroy witches. Celestina, heartbroken at the death of her father killed because of his association with a witch, joins them intent on killing that witch. But Celestina’s beauty has attracted Rinaldo, a rock cutter longing to be an artist. He believes her to be his muse. Together they face impossible odds searching for the witch responsible for her father’s death. Rinaldo sees treasured artworks destroyed by the mob. Celestina herself is accused of witchcraft. Venerated figures within the church turn out not to be the virtuous figures they appeared to be. Evil abounds, and the reader becomes very aware that the Italian Renaissance was not all enlightenment. Pedersen shows deep feeling for both

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the period and the fate of women accused of witchcraft. Her research into the art and discoveries of 15th-century northern Italy provides a strong foundation for the novel. Also, her narrative skill as she reveals the fear and ignorance of the time provide us with a well-balanced and absorbing read. Valerie Adolph

16TH CENTURY

THE SCENT OF DANGER

Fiona Buckley, Severn House, 2020, $28.99/£20.00, hb, 235pp, 9781780291338

In February 1586, fifty-something Ursula Stannard is Queen Elizabeth I’s illegitimate half-sister, as well as a sometime agent run by spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham. The threat of an invasion by King Philip of Spain that would benefit the queen’s cousin, Mary Stuart of Scotland, makes spies especially crucial on the west coast of England closest to Spain. When Ursula has reason to travel to Devon on her family’s business, Walsingham suggests she also find out why two spies she hired for him on her last trip have failed to report since before Christmas. Ursula, her 20-year-old ward Joyce, and their husband-and-wife servants cannot stay at her family’s home because of fire damage, so they board with neighbors with Puritan leanings who are forcing their marriageable but plain daughter into a union with a much older widower who will enhance their fortunes. Ursula easily discovers the two spies have died under suspicious circumstances but has no concrete clues to point her toward whether they were murdered by Stuart sympathizers. Only after two nearly successful attempts on her life does Ursula detect a familiar scent that leads her to the killer. Buckley’s 18th Ursula adventure appealed even to this reader, who had never encountered her before. Ursula’s intrepid style and devilmay-care attitude lead her into more danger than she should have to deal with, but her supporting cast has her back and have their own moments to shine. Joyce especially comes out of this escapade smelling like a rose, so Ursula returns home to Surrey with a new ward and a new servant to brighten her next adventure. Tom Vallar

ANNE AND LOUIS

Rozsa Gaston, Renaissance Editions, 2019, $15.95, pb, 389pp, 9781732589940

In Renaissance Europe, marriages determine the fate of nations. Thanks to careful planning by her mother, young Claude, daughter of Anne of Brittany and Louis XII, is poised to become the most powerful woman in Europe when she comes of age and marries the future Holy Roman Emperor. But before that can happen, her father decides it is better to have her marry his successor, as he is planning to unite France and southern Italy under his crown. Outraged and betrayed, Anne forms a secret alliance with Ferdinand of Spain that 20

would carve up Italy between them, going against her husband’s wishes. Though they are united in love, they are polar opposites in politics, hatching a public and private war that could tear apart Europe and change the fate of nations. Anne and Louis is the third book in a series. If you’re familiar with the period or have read the first two books, you’ll enjoy this wellresearched, entertaining tale. However, if you’re new to this series/period, it may take time to get adjusted, especially with multiple point of view shifts that aren’t always clear. But the characters and plot will easily draw you in. In addition to bringing to life the political machinations of the time, the author does a fine job of taking the reader beyond the throne room into the privy chambers and personal lives of Anne and Louis. They may love fiercely, but they are both strong-willed, opinionated leaders who are often on opposite sides of the political chessboard. No matter who holds check, their love remains strong, lending hope that their differences can be resolved without bringing disaster to Europe. Nicole Evelina

THE LOST BOYS OF LONDON

Mary Lawrence, Red Puddle Print, 2020, $16.00, pb, 324pp, 9781734736106

First one small boy then another has been found hanging from the wall of a church in London. Bianca Goddard is very afraid her young friend Fisk, missing for days, might become the third. The year is 1545, and Henry VIII is on the throne, elderly now and increasingly suspicious of both the old religion he has forbidden and the new religion that is not proving as obedient to his rule as he had expected. Bianca is missing her husband John who, with thousands of others, has been required to fight for the king against the Scots. Interspersed within Bianca’s story are glimpses of his life as a pikeman, the cruelties of the English army and John’s struggle to get home. Meanwhile, Bianca struggles to understand the reason for the boys’ deaths in order to prevent more killings. Her investigations take her through London’s seedier areas where families struggle to make a living, burdened by taxes imposed to pay for the king’s greed and his wars. Religion is no comfort but a dividing force, with homeless monks and nuns swelling the ranks of the poor and suspicions between new sects splintering their believers. Bianca must unravel these mysteries and forces at work in her community. This novel has plenty of action and welldrawn characters, but it is the interplay of these influences on people desperate to find food for their children that creates the depth of the plot. Lawrence’s meticulous research draws the reader deep into the complexities of the lives of Londoners, moving from the Dim Dragon Inn to Paternoster Row and old St Paul’s Cathedral. Bianca and Fisk travel filthy streets to

REVIEWS | Issue 92, May 2020

squalid homes—no Tudor glamour here. But if you’d like to feel the realities of life in Henry’s capital city, this novel is for you. Valerie Adolph

THE MIRROR & THE LIGHT

Hilary Mantel, Henry Holt, 2020, $30.00, hb, 757pp, 9780805096606 / Fourth Estate, 2020, £25.00, hb, 912pp, 9780007480999

Following Anne Boleyn’s beheading in May 1536, chief councillor Thomas Cromwell’s star has never shone brighter in Henry VIII’s eyes. But Henry, as Cromwell knows better than anyone, is nothing if not mercurial. His Majesty’s childish temper threatens to undo sound governance, while the wrong word can cost you your life. So though the king has just gotten rid of an unwanted wife and married another, troubles emerge daily, each a chance for Cromwell to fail. But The Mirror & the Light, the third, triumphant volume in the Cromwell trilogy, involves far more than a throne in peril or a councillor equally skilled at governing and flattering His Majesty into believing that the royal self is responsible. Mantel has thought deeply about power and cast the king-councillor relationship as a matter of preserving England from disaster while welcoming necessary reforms. Yet Cromwell remains a man of his time, willing to use force if he can’t persuade; and when he can’t influence Henry’s more odious whims, he fulfils them to the letter. As with anyone else, power seduces him, much as he tries to resist. In a brilliant stroke, Mantel shows how Cromwell learned power (and to live by his wits) as the son of a violent, abusive Putney blacksmith. However high he rises, he’s still that striving, mistrustful, hard-edged boy. Readers of the previous two volumes may be pleased to hear that the author has taken greater care to identify the ubiquitous he that refers throughout to her protagonist. Occasionally, you hit bumps, most notably when Cromwell reminisces to himself, but you can’t stay lost for long. Not only is The Mirror & the Light an engrossing, beautifully written portrait of a man and an era, it’s one of the most compelling novels I’ve ever read. Larry Zuckerman

ON WILDER SEAS

Nikki Marmery, Legend Press, 2020, £8.99, pb, 316pp, 9781789551136

Most people have heard of Francis Drake’s circumnavigation of the globe aboard the

Golden Hind. It is less well-known that for nine months in 1579, he was accompanied by a black female slave called Maria. The original records are short and brutally dismissive: “Drake took out of this ship… a negro wench called Maria which was afterward gotten with child between the captain and his men pirates and set on a small island to take her adventures”. On Wilder Seas adds flesh to these bare bones. Told in first person, this is very much Maria’s story as she endures the deprivations of a tiny ship, at the mercy of eighty men and devoid of female companionship. The author paints an evocative picture of this regimented, claustrophobic world: the hourly bells; men sleeping where they could; the smell of bitter saltpetre on the gun deck; the manger of scratching, pecking hens. All in sharp contrast to Drake’s own tranquil cabin: fine furniture bolted down; pictures on the walls; books everywhere. Through a series of vivid flashbacks, we learn about Maria’s early life in South Africa, followed by the horrors of the slaving ship that transported her to the New World. Maria is an immensely likeable character; compassionate, intelligent, resilient and courageous. Drake, on the other hand, grows less admirable as the novel progresses: searching for the elusive “Northwest Passage”, he makes camp at Nova Albion, (long supposed to be California, although Marmery places it further north at the Canadian/USA border). Drake and his men treat the native population as savages – with tragic consequences – whereas Maria befriends them and earns their trust. On Wilder Seas is a beautifully written and thoughtprovoking novel. Highly recommended. Penny Ingham

THE SARACEN’S MARK

S. W. Perry, Corvus, 2020, £14.99, hb, 418pp, 9781786498977

Despite its length (I don’t like books over 400 pages) I enjoyed this book, the third in Perry’s Mark series and to my mind the best yet. Set in 1593, when the plague struck England, it takes place in London and Marrakech. Nicholas is sent undercover by Robert Cecil to Marrakech on the trail of a missing informer. Meanwhile Bianca is discovering things in London which are relevant to the operation. To say more would give away the plot, but a thing I like about this series is that Bianca is an equal partner with Nicholas – if not at the characters’ behest then in the way the story works out. This novel is less convoluted than the previous two, making an easier read. There are mainly just two points of view – Nicholas’ and Bianca’s – so when a chapter ends on a cliffhanger there is no long wait before it is picked up again. It is well-plotted, with good foreshadowing, so that when something is mentioned in a description it is no surprise when it becomes relevant later. Questions raised are answered, some quickly, the larger

ones not till the end – when there is a neat twist. Perry has the knack of painting a word picture so that the reader can see the place – and time – he is describing. He often includes historical people: Cecil, Marlowe, Dr Lopez (physician to Elizabeth I), Arnoult de Lisle, Muhammed al-Annuri, all of whom, as far as I can tell, are true to their character. This story has a satisfying ending, and the characters remained with me after I had finished. I look forward to the next in the series, though to get the best out of it you will need to have read the previous two, to enjoy the developing relationship between Nicholas and Bianca. jay Dixon

SHADOWS OF HEMLOCK

K.M. Pohlkamp, Filles Vertes, 2019, $16.00/ C$22.00, pb, 360pp, 9781946802446

Having betrayed those she holds dear, assassin Aselin Gavrell is faced not with the prestige and independence she imagined, but with a life of servitude to her powerful clients and distrust from the very Guild she sought to impress. With the help of a maid/ possible apprentice of her own and a few close friends, Aselin has to fend off dangerous men who want her dead as well as complete a task so impossible it would make Hercules quake in his sandals, all the while dealing with the emotional and mental fallout from the actions that led to her Master’s death. Returning to K. M. Pohlkamp’s Tudor world of assassins in this second book in a series is like going to a beloved vacation spot. It is much anticipated and comfortingly familiar, yet brings with it something new on each page and never fails to please. While this book can be read on its own, to get the full effect reading its predecessor, Apricots and Wolfsbane, is recommended. Pohlkamp is a master of strong, clever, intelligent, yet flawed female characters. Aselin is by turns laudatory and infuriating, brave and weak, but that is what makes her such a relatable, memorable heroine. Filled with twists you won’t see coming, this fantasy will leave you breathless until the final page. Highly recommended for fans of the first book as well as anyone looking for a good quasiRenaissance world in which to escape. And I personally hope this series will spawn many more books! Nicole Evelina

RAPHAEL, PAINTER IN ROME

Stephanie Storey, Arcade, 2020, $24.99/ C$33.99, hb, 320pp, 9781950691272

Stephanie Storey follows up her stunning debut, Oil and Marble, a novel about the rivalry between Leonardo and Michelangelo, with another brilliant novel of art in Renaissance Italy. At eleven, Raphael Santi promises his dying father that he will become the greatest painter in the world. Raphael studies with

Perugino, who accuses him of thievery when he improves upon one of Perugino’s paintings. Raphael values beauty in painting, and paints the world as it should be, as opposed to his great rival, Michelangelo, who considers himself a sculptor and creates threedimensional figures who struggle and strain. Raphael’s great desire is to create the perfect painting. When Pope Julius II offers the commission for the Sistine Chapel ceiling to Michelangelo, Raphael is furious, but then the pope asks him to paint the papal apartments. The two rivals are pitted against each other in a contest to determine who will be considered the greatest artist ever. Meanwhile, Raphael falls in love with Margherita Luti, a baker’s daughter turned prostitute, who inspires many of his paintings. Storey makes the world of Renaissance Rome come alive and draws the reader into its constant intrigues, as cardinals compete with each other to become the pope’s next favorite. She also draws the reader into all the festivals and banquets at the papal court. Above all, she has excellent insight into the Renaissance art world and the genius of these two great artists, Raphael and Michelangelo, who were opposites in many ways—painting vs. sculpture, idealism vs. realism—and who disliked each other but also supported each other at crucial moments. Raphael narrates his own story, as if speaking to the reader. Occasionally the dialogue sounds modern in tone, but, as Storey explains, that was a conscious decision, because it reflects the innovative style of Raphael’s art. Vicki Kondelik

KATHERYN HOWARD, THE TAINTED QUEEN (UK) / KATHERYN HOWARD, THE SCANDALOUS QUEEN (US)

Alison Weir, Headline, 2020, £19.99, hb, 462 pp, 9781472227775 / Ballantine, 2020, $28.99, hb, 480pp, 9781101966600

This is a superb novel about a young queen who was the victim of powerful and ambitious persons around her. Neglected by her grandmother, she was used by the ruthless Duke of Norfolk to further Catholic and family ambitions, and the enigmatic Lady Rochford played a sinister role in her downfall. Francis Dereham became her stalker, although at one time Katheryn was in love and wanted to marry him. After Henry VIII’s disappointment over the Kleve marriage, Katheryn is thrust in his

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way at a banquet manipulated by her uncle Norfolk, and he is immediately besotted with her. After his divorce the king immediately marries Katheryn, his ‘rose without a thorn’. However, this particular ‘rose’ comes with a past of which Henry is unaware, and which she must keep secret. Guarding it leads to blackmail. Katheryn was around nineteen when she was executed for adultery after less than two years of marriage. Weir portrays a needy young girl looking for love and independence who is undone by her past. She is depicted not as foolish and uneducated but as a woman who adored music, was probably dyslexic and was emotionally and intellectually ill-equipped to become Henry’s fifth queen. Weir explores these characters’ motives convincingly. The personalities leap from the page. We cannot know if Katheryn had full sexual relations with her kinsman, Thomas Culpepper, but Weir is plausible as she exposes their assignations on the 1541 Northern Progress. Lady Rochford is the least sympathetic character, who in Weir’s interpretation eggs Katheryn on to become caught up in a web from which there is no disentanglement. Every base in this story is admirably covered by Weir’s impeccable research. Every character is drawn so vividly and accurately that I felt they had entered my living room. Of the three of Weir’s excellent novels about Henry VIII’s queens I have read and reviewed, this is my favourite. Carol McGrath

17TH CENTURY

FIONA OF KINSALE

Antoinette Berthelotte, Double Fun Press, 2019, $12.99, pb, 188pp, 9781689144674

Fiona Gearaghty is growing up in Kinsale as Spain’s last Armada comes into port. Though she weds Thomas Lydon to conceal a shameful secret, their relationship turns into a love match. Fearing the English military occupation of Kinsale, the couple flee to the safety of Galway before Thomas’s career takes them first to Portsmouth and finally back home to Co. Cork. Berthelotte’s book is thoroughly researched, but because it is narrated entirely from Fiona’s point of view, sometimes the effect is rather monochrome; we are told rather than discovering what Fiona is thinking. The plot dips soon after the halfway mark, with some episodes not really advancing the story. The book’s main problem for this reviewer, however, was one of voice: Berthelotte uses jarring modernisms such as ‘the help’, ‘freshen up’, and ‘take me on as her personal project’. 22

Fiona talks of ‘enjoying our little adventure’ in Galway. Is this really what someone would say who had fled a siege, leaving her family behind? She goes to confession and likes the priest’s Leinster accent (we are in Connacht), and browses ‘a woman’s publication with sketches of some of the newer styles in London’ – in 1601? Tighter copy-editing is needed to catch inconsistent punctuation, paragraphing, grammar errors, and unexplained tense shifts. The secret Fiona has concealed for years risks exposure towards the end, but that threat is almost immediately removed, too quickly for real dramatic tension. However, the novel is also the gentle and lyrical telling of a couple keeping faith with each other. Katherine Mezzacappa

CHARITY’S CHOICE

Alexine Crawford, Conrad Press, 2019, £9.99, pb, 256pp, 9781911546641

The English Civil War has yet to be won or lost, and while King Charles I is secure on the Isle of Wight while Parliament struggles to decide how the country should be run, the people of England carry on with their lives in a time of religious and political factions, when propaganda and pamphleteering take hold. The Mannory family of Farnham, Surrey, are the focus of this perceptive and informative novel. Their trade is to buy skins, clean and tan them, selling the finished leather. Jacob, the old man, is determined to stay in control. His son, James, has different, modern ideas and because of his frustration is an angry and violent man. When he decides the time is right for marriage, his search for a suitable wife does not take into consideration the woman herself, her feelings, or her temperament. This doesn’t bode well for him or his long-suffering wife, Ann Gary. His brother, Thomas, is a carter. He travels far and wide, taking no sides, and transports goods for both armies. One day, he returns to Farnham with Charity, a shy young stranger who is frightened of people, particularly men. Hard-working, she loves children, is literate and numerate, a good cook, skilled seamstress and embroiderer, and soon becomes very useful to the townswomen. These people and their neighbours, relationships, and beliefs are the heart of Charity’s Choice. Although their futures depend on the ever-changing fortunes of England, its king and its church, they have choices to make. So what is Charity’s choice? What she decides is vital, yet the fact she can make a choice is more important. If, like me, your knowledge of this critical juncture in England’s history is a haze, you will learn much within these pages. Historical fiction at its best—highly recommended.

REVIEWS | Issue 92, May 2020

Sally Zigmond

MISTRESS YALE’S DIARIES, THE GLORIOUS RETURN

David Ebsworth, Silverwood, 2019, £9.00, pb, 306pp, 9781781329368

On her return from Madras, Catherine Yale continues her diary recording the events, politics and people of 1690s London. Her husband, Elihu Yale, a director of the East India Company, has remained in India unaware that Catherine, annoyed by his infidelities, has sworn an affidavit accusing him of corruption. A Dissenter, Catherine is a spy in the service of the Protestant King William the Third. As well as vividly reporting the daily life of London’s mercantile class, she describes an England still torn apart by Protestant and Catholic factions. Her government contacts involve her in the exposure of Jacobite traitors plotting to restore James the Second. Not until her life and her daughters are threatened by a vicious Jacobite enemy does she realise how William’s supporters have used her, a mere dispensable woman. Elihu Yale is well known as a collector of Indian art and a philanthropist as well as the founder of Yale University, but Ebsworth employs Catherine to explore his less honourable activities, embezzlement and slave-trading, in the three volumes of her fictional diaries. As this is the second, there is occasional confusion, because many entries refer to unexplained events and people in Madras. This is unimportant – diaries are meant to be fragments of everyday life, and it is the colourful recreation of the post-Glorious Revolution England that fascinates and holds the reader. Historical personages add depth and believability to a sketchy plot. All the characters, fictional or real, are layered and believable. Catherine herself, if not always likeable or admirable, lives on the page. Slow to get into, the diary becomes addictively readable; a wonderful picture of an England adjusting to a peaceful revolution. Lynn Guest

TRAILING THE HUNTER

Heidi Eljarbo, independently published, $12.99, pb, 298pp, 9781699861080

Norway, 1661. Clara has been tracking notorious witch-hunter Angus Hill, hoping to stop his murderous accusations of witchcraft that have already left many innocent women dead. She discovers his next stop is in the village of Berg, where Clara decides to use the ruse of setting up a school for the local children to explain what she’s doing there. When Clara saves the life of Siren, a heavily pregnant young woman, she sets off a chain of events that nearly claim her life. Clara hopes telling the truth will keep the Berg villagers from being caught up in Angus’s expertly presented lies. However, Angus isn’t the only man with a deadly agenda; his second-in-command has his own ideas about dealing with not only witches, but with Angus. Not all in Berg are caught up in the witchfrenzy stirred up by Angus. Christian, the local lord, believes in Clara and becomes one of her

stalwart supporters. But even with Christian’s help, Clara must use all her courage and commonsense to bring sanity back to Berg. While the story tackles an interesting subject in a rarely used setting, the writing didn’t entice me in; it’s rather flat, and there is practically no description. The story could be taking place almost anywhere and almost anywhen. (Clothing is described as, say, “a gray outfit.”) The main characters, while good-hearted, seem amazingly naïve. I would have liked more grounding in the time and place, and more well-rounded characters. India Edghill

TYLL

Daniel Kehlmann (trans. Ross Benjamin), riverrun, 2020, £18.99, hb, 342pp, 9781529403657 / Pantheon, 2020, $26.95, hb, 352pp, 9781524747466

Tyll Ulenspiegel was a German jester and trickster, and legend places his death in 1350. In this novel the German author Daniel Kehlmann has taken this legendary figure and placed him at the time of the Thirty Years’ War. Since the book is titled Tyll, he is presumably intended to be the main character, but this is an episodic novel with no chronological order. There is a trial of Tyll’s father for witchcraft, some wanderings of a fat count, a meeting of Friedrich – the Winter King – with the Swedish king Gustav Adolf, and other events which are told with Tyll as a secondary, almost marginal character. There are other episodes, though, where Tyll plays a larger role, as when he is caught in a collapsed mine or together with a girl accompanies a travelling entertainer. But he remains a rather elusive character. However, the different episodes are vividly narrated and the many characters – except Tyll – convincingly portrayed. Niels Frandsen

FIERCE DREAMER

Linda Lafferty, Lake Union, 2020, $14.95, pb, 329pp, 9781542017626

Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1656) was raised in the almost exclusively male art world of 17th-century Italy. She had a natural eye for colour, texture, and perspective, and her father Orazio, also an artist, recognised her genius. Lafferty explores some reasons Artemisia became known as a ‘painter of fierce, assertive women and held such mastery over facial expression’. One thought is her visceral reaction to witnessing the execution of 22-year-old Beatrice Cenci in 1599; another is that she met and greatly admired Caravaggio, whose paintings were often considered blasphemous and grotesque in their honesty. In hindsight, perhaps, the horrors of her own childhood translate into her painting. As a girl, Artemisia grinds and mixes paints, and later, as her artwork excels, she renders background and detail on Orazio’s commissions. All the while she continues to work on her own renditions of Susannah and the Elders, and Judith and Holofernes. At 17, she

outshines her father, but Orazio continues to imprison her and covet her labour while offering false hopes for a move to Florence. Seemingly aware of her brilliance, however, he hires Agostino Tassi to teach Artemisia, but after being brutally raped by him, she struggles to convince her father of her innocence. Agostino is eventually brought to trial, but Artemisia is humiliated, degraded and physically tortured in the courtroom before being exonerated. This is an immensely readable fictional biography of an artist who was sought after by the Medici family and considered a Baroque master of biblical and mythological scenes. Lafferty has infused her characters with the chiaroscuro evident in Artemisia’s paintings, along with a full range of emotional colour. It’s a gripping story of love, lust, envy and artistic genius. Artemisia was a ‘fierce dreamer’ and centuries ahead of her time. Readers of Sarah Dunant and Donna Russo Morin will love this novel, but it’s recommended to all. Fiona Alison

A ROLL OF THE BONES

Trudy J. Morgan-Cole, Breakwater, 2019, $21.95, pb, 248pp, 9781550817980

Orphaned as a child, Nancy spent most of her life as a servant in the Gale household. Close in age to the family’s oldest daughter Kathryn, she’s grown up with her mistress, and the two young women become inseparable. When Kathryn marries, she doesn’t think twice about asking Nancy to join her new household. A short time later, Kathryn’s husband decides to leave Bristol to live in the newly established colony in Cupids, Newfoundland. Kathryn reluctantly agrees to join him, and Nancy feels her only choice is to go with her best friend. Recently established, the small colony is inhabited solely by men. Nancy and Kathryn’s incoming ship brings supplies and sixteen women to assist in the efforts to build a new community. The women find the living conditions inadequate and the work endless. The colony is plagued by harsh weather conditions, the threat of pirates, and uneasy interactions with the island’s native inhabitants. Nancy is no stranger to hard work and knows her new life will be a challenge but isn’t prepared for the constant pressure to marry. She receives multiple marriage proposals, including one from Ned, a stonemason who was once in love with Kathryn. She vows never to marry but quickly discovers that staying true to herself has significant consequences. Some heavily researched novels can get bogged down with historical details and descriptions, but not this one. Morgan-Cole manages to strike the perfect balance by including enough descriptions of day-to-day life in early 17th-century Newfoundland to fully immerse the reader and adding in fastpaced action to keep the story moving. I was so absorbed with the tale; I couldn’t believe it when I got to the last page. Fortunately, this is book one of a trilogy, and readers can look

forward to more installments of the colonists’ adventures. Janice Derr

WRITTEN IN THEIR STARS

Elizabeth St. John, Falcon Historical, 2019, $14.99, pb, 386pp, 9780999394465

1649: The beheading of King Charles I tears the Apsley family apart. Luce Apsley Hutchinson, who encouraged her husband John to sign the order for the king’s execution, feels proud that a new order has arisen, one without the excess and inequalities of the old royal court. Yet her brother Allen, married to Frances, stakes his fortunes with the exiled court of Charles II. Cousin Nan Wilmot, also a secret Royalist sympathizer, fights to secure her children’s future under the new regime while she enlists Frances as part of a spy network, sending information from England to Europe to benefit the Royalists. Despite their political differences, the family remains bound together by love. But even strong family loyalty can be tested as political allegiances pull family members poles apart. This is the third volume of the Lydiard Chronicles, based on Elizabeth St. John’s own family history. The story is primarily told from the alternating viewpoints of Luce, Frances, and Nan. Despite my not having read the previous two volumes, it still proved relatively easy to pick up the narrative. Elizabeth St. John brings the period of Cromwell’s rule to life. The family saga is engrossing, and the theme of family ties tested by political views is one that readers may find meaningful in our own times. The personalities and characters of the close-knit family ring true. Although it might not be necessary to have read the previous volumes to enjoy this book, reading the complete trilogy could likely prove irresistible to lovers of family sagas. Recommended. Susan McDuffie

A WOMAN OF THE ROAD

Amy Wolf, Lone Wolf Press, 2019, $10.95, pb, 293pp, 9781696293563

Imagine if Roaring Girl Moll Cutpurse joined Dumas’ Three Musketeers and you have the story of Margaret Tanner, who escapes her cruel father and dons men’s attire to roam the Great Western Road as the fabled highwayman Megs. In the company of bold Captain Jeffries, hulking Carnatus, and intriguing Aventis, who is a Catholic, a scholar, an adventurer, and an exiled count, Megs robs coaches, learns swordplay, and lives by her wits and pistols. Megs’ escapades brush her against the highest and lowest elements of 17th-century British life, from robbing great ladies to imprisonment in Newgate to an encounter with the poet Milton. When Megs’ luck runs out, she retires to rebuild her father’s inn and attempts to live the life of a respectable innkeeper—until a threat to King Charles II from the deposed Dissenter, Richard Cromwell, brings the old

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friends together in one last daring attempt to save king and country. Wolf’s prose is lively, and her characters are charming rogues playing across a backdrop infused with real historicity. Public mistrust of Catholics, scars from the recent Civil War, plague, and the Great Fire of London all factor into the story, as does the romantic image of the highwayman as a gentleman, a wit, and a man of fashion. Megs’ struggles with her gender masquerade add a poignant note in a story otherwise brash, full of brio, and sheer good fun. It’s a rollicking, seat-of-your-pants kind of read, though several errors not caught in the proofing stage may hinder enjoyment for some. Misty Urban

18TH CENTURY TSARINA

Ellen Alpsten, Bloomsbury, 2020, £16.99, hb, 504pp, 9781526606419 / St. Martin’s, 2020, $27.99, hb, 480pp, 9781250214430

This is the story of Catherine I of Russia, not to be confused with Catherine the Great. This Catherine was born in 1684 to a peasant family in either Poland or Lithuania, and went by the name of Marta Skowronska, and history has largely forgotten her. Gradually she climbed the social ladder until in 1712 she became the second wife of Peter I (Peter the Great). After his death in 1725, she ruled Russia in her own right until her own death in 1727. Ellen Alpsten has drawn on documentary evidence and created an account of Catherine’s life in novel form. It is easy to read, and one becomes captivated by all the events, but it is not for the fainthearted. Daisy Goodwin describes it as “the ultimate Cinderella story of an illiterate peasant girl who becomes the Empress of Russia. It makes Game of Thrones look like a nursery rhyme”. I have never seen Game of Thrones, but I can certainly agree that this is not a happy-ever-after fairy story. It is true that Catherine became empress of Russia, but one description is that she only achieved that because Peter “died just in time”. The story is brilliantly descriptive and leaves nothing to the imagination, be it the lives of the peasants from whom Catherine came; the social lives of both rich and poor; the sexual mores of the time; and the sheer cruelty of the Emperor. His people were largely terrified of him, and he spared no one, not even his only son, Alexey, born of his first wife, Evdokia, whom he also confined to a convent. Ellen Alpsten won the Grande École short story competition and has contributed to international publications such as Vogue, Standpoint and Conde Nast Traveller. This is her first novel. Marilyn Sherlock

DEATH AND THE CHEVALIER

Robin Blake, Severn House, 2020, $28.99/£20.99, hb, 288pp, 9780727889201

Prestonians in Lancashire, England, have bitter memories of the Scottish risings of 1715 and 1719 that left much of the town in ashes. In November 1745, rumors that “Bonnie Prince Charlie” has landed in Scotland with designs on reclaiming the Stuart throne seem true: a head, body, and plaid are discovered in three separate places. This is a case for Coroner Titus Cragg to puzzle over, and it gets worse when his friend, Dr. Luke Fidelis, finds a second head and body, though the second head seems a better fit for the first body. The theory that two Highlanders were an advance party spying for “the Chevalier” is bolstered when Fidelis discovers a note in the mouth of one of the heads that claims the victims were done in by supporters of King George. When the Scots subsequently occupy the town, and an elderly man who recently found a saddlebag containing more than £200 dies, suspicion falls on the Jacobite troops that raided his home. But the Scots strike back by taking Titus into custody, charging him with the murder of the spies based on a copy of his sworn coroner’s report. Luke’s resourcefulness frees him from prison as the Jacobite army continues toward London, and the pair ferret out the murderer of all three victims. Blake peoples his novels with believable characters, but introduces far too many by name to possibly keep track of. Further, the urgency of an invasion never truly envelops the participants. This sixth installment of the series includes a personal challenge for Titus that he meets ably, but the mystery element is less compelling. Tom Vallar

story with its well-placed action and suspense. I anxiously look forward to the next book in the series.

Jeff Westerhoff

THE FOUNDLING (UK) / THE LOST ORPHAN (US)

Stacey Halls, Manilla Press, 2020, £12.99, hb, 370pp, 9781838770068 /MIRA, 2020, $16.99, pb, 288pp, 9780778309321

In 1748, Bessie Bright gives birth to an illegitimate daughter, Clara. Due to her poverty-stricken circumstances, she is forced to leave the newborn at the Foundling Hospital. So desperate is the condition of London’s poor at this time that there is a ballot to see which children will be taken in. Mothers are competing to give away their infants, being unable to feed and care for them themselves. The fate of those unsuccessful is left to the readers’ imaginations. Six years later, Bessie has managed to save some money and comes to rescue her child. Little does she expect to hear that Clara has already been claimed, ostensibly by Bessie herself. The second phase of the story follows a damaged young widow who has not left her house in a decade. How the two are linked, the reader will discover. In general, the sights and sounds of London are beautifully described and the sights and smells leap off the page, creating vivid images in the mind. Bessie is an endearing heroine, and the story is entertaining and gripping. The ending was somewhat pat and modern in feeling for my tastes, but those who have come to care about the characters will rejoice. I read and enjoyed Halls’ previous novel, The Familiars (HNR 88), but I felt this was an improvement. Ann Northfield

A BOTTLE OF RUM

MURDER IN VENICE

In 1723, former pirates Spider John Rush and his comrade Odin are enjoying good tankards of ale at the Crosskeys Tavern in the port town of Lymington, England, when they are interrupted by a scream. The tavern owner is discovered dead, and Spider John runs after the suspected murderer. While investigating the crime, Spider John hears of a kidnapping of a group of pirates and suspects their wayward young friend Hobbs is among those captured. He and Odin feel they must join with a group of former pirates under the command of HalfJim Fawke, a dangerous man and a former acquaintance. They are, curiously, guarding a local home for mentally ill patients. Spider John suspects that Hobbs may be held prisoner. This novel is the third book in the Spider John mysteries. I have read the previous books, and this novel did not disappoint. Although part of a series, this novel can stand alone. The writing is crisp while the plot moves forward at a steady pace from chapter to chapter. Although there are several mysteries that abound throughout the tale, be prepared to be absorbed in the

Venice, 1752. When the body of an impoverished nobleman is discovered, Avogadore Marco Pisani is asked to investigate. He’s helped by his friend Zen Daniele, a lawyer, and his gondolier, Nani. When the body of an aristocrat is found next, the ties between the two victims point to a sinister cover-up that Pisani will need to uncover if he has hopes of catching a killer. The setting is colored vibrantly with rich detail. Readers will enjoy traveling the canals of Venice. The trio of Marco, Zen, and Nani is well-suited to explore the different social classes for clues. The author utilizes them well, capitalizing on their differences to push the plot forward in interesting ways. The main female character feels out of place in an otherwise very methodical investigation. The mystery would have unfolded nearly the same without her presence, so I was disappointed she was more filler than substance. The narration falls a bit heavy in the “telling” versus “showing” camp, and while the mystery held my interest,

Steve Goble, Seventh Street, 2019, $15.95/ C$17.00, pb, 263pp, 9781645060031

REVIEWS | Issue 92, May 2020

Maria Luisa Minarelli (trans. Lucinda Byatt), Thomas & Mercer, 2019, $15.95, pb, 299pp, 9781542094184

it is slightly watered down by the less-explored romance. A few more red herrings would have driven the suspense up to greater heights. However, the meticulous research gives rise to an absorbing atmosphere that readers will relish. This is a well-grounded mystery sheltered within a stunning historical setting. J. Lynn Else

FIRST COMES SCANDAL

Julia Quinn, Avon, 2020, $7.99/C$10.99, pb, 384pp, 9780062956163

1791. Summoned home urgently from medical school in Edinburgh, Nicholas Rokesby is grateful it is not for a death in the family. He is less grateful when he learns that his father wishes, nay commands, him to marry Georgiana Bridgerton. Immediately. He has known her since childhood as a friend and neighbor, but thinks of her as a sister. When he thinks of her at all. She fought off her abductor and escaped, but in the eyes of society she is ruined unless she marries. Reluctantly both agree: he unwilling to abandon a friend, she to accept a bounder who wants her for her dowry. Serious issues are raised: the vulnerability of women, patriarchal attitudes, double standards. In other words, the familiar injustices of the Regency era which, despite progress, sadly remain. But though the spirited Georgie rails against the injustices, especially the attitude that blames the victim, not the aggressor, she bows to the inevitable, determined to make the best of her situation. Which isn’t so bad, really, for Nicholas is not only honorable, but supportive and openminded. With her trademark wit, Quinn steers them from outrage and resignation, to love and hope for the future. Strongly recommended. Ray Thompson

DANGEROUS FREEDOM

Lawrence Scott, Papillote Press, 2019, £10.99, pb, 276pp, 9781999776862

This isn’t a typical novel about slavery. It is a fictional portrayal of a real figure, Dido, the daughter of an African slave and of the nephew of Lord Mansfield. The difference however is not there, but rather in the focus and themes of the novel. The brutality and violence of the horrendous institution of slavery are there in the background and mentioned from time to time as a potential fate lying in wait for those who are unlucky enough to be sold into these situations. Dido herself is considered fortunate; she is treated like one of the family, as by blood, she, in fact, is, albeit illegitimate and of mixed race. But it is not the same. “In whatever way they pretended, she was always on the outside. She survived by always trying to please. She is at the mercy of the whims of others, expected to be grateful for what she has received and the alternative fate she has been saved from. It is still slavery, however, and this is something made very

clear through the novel, especially through the revealing of the deception the family inflict upon her. Dido is freed when Mansfield dies and she becomes Elizabeth d’Aviniere, a wife and mother, but her worries are not over. Her sons are free, but will that stop the slave catchers? What is the piece of paper guaranteeing freedom worth if no one looks at it and instead only at the money to be made in the sale of human beings? The novel jumps around in time between the young Dido and the adult Elizabeth she becomes, which can be confusing, but it is worth persevering with. This is a thought-provoking and subtle novel from an award-winning Trinidadian writer, which will not be easily forgotten. Ann Northfield

19TH CENTURY

THE FLORIOS OF SICILY

Stefania Auci (trans. Katherine Gregor), HarperVia, 2020, $27.99, hb, 370pp, 9780062931672

Translated from Italian, this novel follows seventy years of the 19th century’s most powerful real-life family of Sicily. The story opens in 1799 with one more earthquake rattling the town of Bagnara in southern Italy. Paolo Florio has had enough of his hardscrabble existence and constant worry. He moves to Palermo, Sicily, with his young wife (Giuseppina), his brother (Ignazio), and infant son (Vincenzo). Crowded, dusty, smelly, expensive Palermo makes nothing easy for these low-class outsiders. Giuseppina hates that she must leave behind a comfortable country home and follow her husband. Working day and night in their small spice shop, the brothers begin an upward climb. After Paolo’s too-early death, brother Ignazio and son Vincenzo build on the spice trade. Vincenzo, equal part guile and anger, grows up quickly and succeeds at other ventures—tuna processing, shipping, insurance, banking. Revolts by poor locals against outside rulers, a cholera epidemic, trade wars, jealous competitors and pirates always threaten what the Florios have achieved. Layered into this story are two hearttugging romances. Widow Giuseppina and her brother in law (Ignazio) share years of a deep but unrealized love. Vincenzo falls hard for beautiful Giulia, takes her as his mistress and marries her, but only after the birth of their third child and first son. She, every bit as determined and clever as Vincenzo, is treated as an outcast whore in a male-dominated

world, where class status and female virtue count for too much. Auci expertly weaves the details of the times and locations through the various historical events. Her many characters all ring true. Their true-to-life interactions, emotions and dialogue make it easy for readers to care. Her prose is clean but hardly dull (“Today, anger and triumph taste the same”). Overall, this epic tale is a pleasure. Highly recommended. G. J. Berger

FORTUNE

Lenny Bartulin, Allen & Unwin, 2019, A$29.99, pb, 292pp, 9781760529307

The author’s earlier historical novel Infamy blasted away the conventions with a frenetic pace and vivid irreverence. It was a graphic, yet also darkly humorous, tale of early Van Diemen’s Land. In this latest outing we return to Australia but only after a series of Daliesque adventures through the Napoleonic Wars, South America and the South Pacific before culminating in a final flourish a century later in Europe. Johannes Meyer’s troubles start the day Napoleon marches triumphantly into Berlin in 1806. Usually found discussing philosophy in a local coffee house, Johannes gets distracted by the sexy waitress. Their coupling is witnessed by young Elisabeth von Hoffman. As she and Johannes look at one another, they both experience a type of déjà vu. This enigmatic brief encounter loosely pins the novel together. Johannes is dragooned into the Prussian Army and spends the next few years deserting and being recaptured by the French and the English. Elisabeth takes up with one of Napoleon’s generals and follows an erratic path of her own. Many other individuals go on journeys in a zigzag fashion. Among the most memorable are the American Wesley Lewis, Jr., and slave Mr. Hendrik, who sell electric eels; Johannes’ philosopher friend Kruger, who is obsessed with finding a black Josephine; and Claus von Rolt, who has a thing for shrunken heads. The historical background is crisp and colourful, but this is not a novel for the fainthearted. An appreciation of black humour will help with some of the more macabre passages, such as hamstringing and quasiscientific experiments on slaves using the original French Revolution guillotine. This novel can be read as either just a savage romp through history or as a “sliding doors” allegory on luck and chance in fortunes. Either way, it is a highly entertaining ride. Marina Maxwell

HOPE’S HIGHEST MOUNTAIN

Misty M. Beller, Bethany House, 2019, $14.99, pb, 316pp, 9780764233463

Four people on a freight wagon pulled by two mules in a Rocky Mountain snowstorm in 1866 – what could possibly go wrong?

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Nearly everything, as only one beautiful young woman survives the wagon’s pitch down the mountainside. Fortunately for her, Dr. Micah Bradley hears the braying of the mules over the howling wind in a struggle to prevent the wagon from tumbling even further. Ingrid Chastain has broken her leg, lost her father, and doubts the qualifications of the mountain man who rescues her from the crash. Her overriding concern is to get the vaccines they were carrying to the smallpox victims of Settler’s Fort in the Montana Territory. Although she discovers this man last doctored over five years ago in Indiana, she realizes his care is healing her wounds. When she is able to travel, they set out on a harrowing journey that will change them both. Any doubt this is an inspirational historical novel is laid to rest by the fourth page when the Lord’s name is invoked, and there are more than a hundred spoken or thought prayers in the course of its 300 pages. The situations, though, call for the intervention of a higher power to bring Ingrid and Micah through the challenges thrown in their way. This is Book One in a new series and follows the author’s four other successful series set in the American West. Misty M. Beller writes a compelling story that is true to its time period and gripping in its pace and action. Her characters are worth praying for and cheering for. Tom Vallar

THE PHILOSOPHER’S DAUGHTERS

Alison Booth, Red Door Press, 2020, £8.99, pb, 356pp, 9781913062149

Australian author, Alison Booth, has had four previously published historical novels, including Stillwater Creek and The Indigo Sky. Her previous novels are predominantly set in the Australia of times past with evocative rural landscapes. The Philosopher’s Daughters takes us back to 1890s London, Sydney and the Australian Northern Territory. Harriet and Sarah Cameron are daughters of a well-known philosopher who lectures on social justice and politics in London. Harriet’s world is shaken up when Sarah marries Henry Vincent and leaves for Australia. Harriet, a talented artist, is devoted to looking after her widowed father. When her father dies unexpectedly, Harriet decides to sail to Australia. When she arrives unannounced in Sydney, she is disappointed to discover her sister and husband have moved to remote, outback Australia. After establishing herself in the lecture circuit in Sydney, Harriet makes her way to her sister where she finds a harsh and cruel world of white domination over the local indigenous peoples. A murder and her blossoming friendship with an indigenous stockman change her world forever. Booth has created an unconventional, multidimensional female protagonist set against 26

a rich visual backdrop, in this controversial period of Australian history. Christine Childs

THIS BLIGHTED EXPEDITION

Lynn Bryant, Wynchlands Publishing, 2019, $3.72, ebook, 459pp, B07XZBWP2Z

Parallel to the unsuccessful British Walcheren military campaign of 1809, a more clandestine political battle is taking place in the highest levels of His Majesty’s government. The amphibious assault against the Netherlands coast pits the British Army and the Royal Navy against French defenders, but also against each other. Navy Captain Hugh Kelly commands one of the invasion’s many warships, and his trusted First Lieutenant Alfred Durrell is snatched away as aide-decamp to a high-level naval commander. A third protagonist, army Captain Ross Mackenzie, commands an infantry company in the landing force. As the three men struggle to fulfill their duties, top-level commanders fritter away chances for victory by focusing on personal, political, and inter-service rivalries. Kelly commands his ship well in a duel with French shore batteries, Mackenzie leads his company creditably in a skirmish, and Durrell brings order out of chaos, coordinating army and naval forces in a campaign that hinges on logistics more than strategy or heroism. After the British withdrawal, Parliament mounts an investigation to assign blame for the expedition. For a military historical novel there is surprisingly little action, and that is summarized more than being developed with intensity and suspense. In fact, the book relies on “telling rather than showing” too often. One character recognizes “his habit of long sentences and involved explanations.” The novel itself has the same fault, with much backstory and overabundant information. Author Lynn Bryant delves deeply into her characters’ thoughts and emotions, but tighter writing, with characterization accomplished more through actions and subtext, would improve and shorten the book. Those criticisms aside, the writing is reminiscent of Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin novels, allowing readers to immerse themselves in the story and the details of the early 19th-century British world. Loyd Uglow

IN THE UNSETTLED HOMELAND OF DREAMS

Thomas Davis, All Things That Matter Press, 2019, $18.99, pb, 320pp, 9781732723788

In late 1840s Missouri, 14-year-old Joshua’s mother tells him to follow her into the swamp to a religious service for slaves. There he is surprised to meet the father he didn’t know he had and to learn that the group’s real purpose is to run away via the Underground Railroad. They endure many tribulations: constant fear of being caught, extreme hunger, and

REVIEWS | Issue 92, May 2020

having to rely on abolitionists for their food and passage when their previous experience has caused them to distrust all whites. They make their way with abolitionists’ help to Washington Island in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and settle on the uninhabited part of the island, with plans to establish a fishing colony. They struggle to prepare for the harsh winters and learn that while many other settlers on the island are anti-slavery, there are some in sympathy with slavers. When news comes that the Fugitive Slave Act will allow slave catchers from Missouri to pursue them across state lines, they must decide whether to abandon their hard-won settlement or stay and hope to remain free. The Underground Railroad section gives a vivid picture of what it would be like to be a slave on the run. The book is also Joshua’s comingof-age story, as he grows from a teenager to a responsible married man. Davis is very good at making the reader feel Joshua’s conflict—he becomes almost friendly to Jesse, a white boy who lends him books, yet past experience prompts him to distrust whites. Each chapter begins with a sonnet, and the endnotes give additional information not found in the text. Davis’s story, partially based on fact, is a fascinating portrait of what happened to slaves who made it north via the Underground Railroad. Not all of their troubles were over. B.J. Sedlock

TOWARD THE MIDNIGHT SUN

Eoin Dempsey, Lake Union, 2020, $14.95, pb, 258pp, 9781542008426

Like all romantic time periods, the Klondike Gold Rush didn’t last very long. Toward the Midnight Sun explores one year of the three-year stampede through the eyes of Anna Denton and Will Leary. Anna is going to Dawson City to meet her soon-to-be husband, the King of the Klondike, Henry Bradwell. Her escorts are two ne’er-do-wells in his employ. Once on the steamer from Seattle with her escorts, she meets Will Leary and his brother-fromanother-mother, Silas Oliver. When Anna’s escorts prove unworthy in Skagway, Will and Silas accompany her over the treacherous Chilkoot Pass to Dawson. But her fiancé is not the kind philanthropist she’d hoped. Hardened by years in the Klondike, Bradwell is petty and jealous, and doesn’t like Anna’s familiarity with her travelling companions. Bradwell’s temper is now the peril the travelers must manage. For me, the best parts of this book are the Chilkoot Trail. The tonnage of supplies, the harsh conditions, and the human tenacity staggers the mind. Dempsey renders the stampeders, the tent towns, and Dawson City in crystal-clear detail. The yearning of Anna and Will feels inevitable and natural, and while I rooted for them to come together, the actual page time feels rushed and brief. The main conflict ratchets up well, the stakes (pun intended) progress fast after the group arrives in Dawson. The resolution, however, falters because the

supporting characters are not as well-drawn. Perhaps it is because the villain, Bradwell, is so very evil that he lacks depth. The ending is where we find the tropes of frontier stories: the Bad Guy Boss, the Noble Savage, and the Soul Who Is Too Good To Live. Anyone who enjoys frontier books, Gold Rush stories, or harsh weather novels will fall in love with Toward the Midnight Sun. Katie Stine

THE ODYSSEY OF GERONIMO

W. Michael Farmer, Five Star, 2020, $25.95, hb, 369pp, 9781432868468

Sonora, Mexico, 1886. On an isolated mountain, Geronimo and a dwindling and hunted band of Apaches are hiding from both the Mexican and American armies. Geronimo is his tribe’s medicine man – Di-yen – not a chief as many of his enemies believe. When they are approached by scouts from the U. S. Army with an offer of peace, Geronimo, his chief, and the leading men agree to surrender in hopes of being reunited with their families, who are in Florida. The surrender terms are never properly kept, and the hated yet famous medicine man begins an odyssey of captivity which ensues over decades. After a tortuous journey inside closed cars on an “iron wagon,” the Apaches arrive in Florida, where the climate and landscape seem alien and hostile to them. They all miss their homeland in Arizona, but none more than Geronimo, who yearns to return there if only to die. They are shuffled from place to place and given small parcels of land to work before ending up in Oklahoma. Apache men traditionally are expected only to hunt, raid and make war. Everything else, including growing crops, is women’s work. However, Geronimo’s fame enables him to make money by selling autographs, pictures and trinkets for ultimately thousands of dollars. He outlives his wives and children, to his dismay, before dying a welcome death in 1909. Told in the first person from Geronimo’s view, the protagonist never comes across as likeable, but it is impossible not to respect this genuine American legend. The ferocity and violence of the times are graphically described, as is the heartbreak of disease, death and disruption of the Apache families. This novel is a moving story and essential American history. Recommended. Thomas J. Howley

ARROWOOD AND THE THAMES CORPSES

Mick Finlay, HQ, 2020, £8.99, pb, 391pp, 9780008324520

The third instalment of the Arrowood series from Mick Finlay will enthral fans and newcomers alike. It’s set in the sweltering summer heat of 1896 London amongst the pleasure steamers and barges making a living on the Thames. A pleasure boat captain asks

for Arrowood’s help as he is being forced out of business by a newer boat crew. However, when the attacks escalate from broken windows and intimidation to murder, a deeper mystery pulls Barnett and his guvnor down into the murky depths once more. Added to this are the ever-growing complications of Arrowood’s personal life. Mick Finlay’s depictions of Victorian life are glistening with glorious, gritty, filthy detail. The description of the ratting game and Arrowood’s encounter with the rats will horrify many readers, so intense is the storytelling. The plot rattles along filled with such incidents and such memorable characters that I felt utterly transported. Previous readers of this series will know that it takes place in the same time and place as the Sherlock Holmes stories. Arrowood faces comparison to Holmes at every turn, but Arrowood’s world is that of the poor, the ragged, and the disenfranchised, so he and Barnett are forever struggling to make ends meet. While each book continues on from the last, each story could be read as a standalone. However, I would highly recommend reading the entire series to see how wonderfully the author has developed the characters and rounded out the world they inhabit. Perfect for fans of Victorian mystery especially fans of Conan Doyle. Lisa Redmond

THE FIRST ACTRESS

C. W. Gortner, Ballantine, 2020, $28.00, hb, 420pp, 9781524799076

“I saw myself at Hugo’s side, the daughter of a courtesan, whom no one save my dear Dumas had believed would amount to anything, the defamed girl of the Slap, of the frivolities of the Gymnase, the frightened mother who nearly lost everything to bear her illicit child. Every humiliation had brought me to this hour; I could revel in my achievement. I was the toast of Paris.” Actress, sculptor, and painter Sarah Bernhardt’s life was full of scandal, disaster and triumph. The First Actress is a fictional

biography of the years she spent striving to become the most acclaimed actress in France. The writing is compelling as we are drawn into her world, seeing the events of her life through her eyes, feeling the exhausting demands of her chosen profession and her drive for recognition. Her venomous mother, Julie, and Sarah detest each other equally. To escape the family ‘profession’ practiced by mother, aunt and later, her sister, Sarah knows that she must become ‘someone else’. Despite setbacks and ridicule, she remains uncompromising in her art, loathes the time-honored traditions of theatre, and never takes well to instruction on how to play a scene. Lead actress at the Odéon and, later, the Comédie, she surpasses all other talent. With success firmly in her grasp, Sarah plays male and female roles in an equally innovative way, engaging with her fellow actors rather than emoting at the audience. Sarah is beautiful and vivacious, scandalous and unconventional. Offstage she is courageous, loving and beloved, kind and fiercely loyal – a force of nature and a fascinating woman who leaves a trail of lovers in her wake but never truly finds love. Gortner’s fluid first-person prose paints a vivid portrait in an immersive, hard-to-putdown drama about the ‘divine Sarah’ who continued to mesmerize the world almost until her death in 1923. Highly recommended. Fiona Alison

THE LACE MAIDEN

Evie Grace, Arrow, 2020, £6.99, pb, 378pp, 9781787464407

Deal, England, 1811. The Lennicker girls, aged 19, 17 and 14, face many adversaries in this maritime tale of salvage, smuggling and skulduggery. Not only is The Revenue determined to prevent them earning a living from “the honourable trade,” but some nasty fellow boatmen with a nastier leader make life extra difficult. However, these plucky orphaned lasses are more than a match for incompetent officialdom and vicious brutes as they sail open boats out to sea in heavy skirts, swells and weather. The first five pages introduce 11 named characters, several unnamed and five named boats, so pay attention! This tidal surge of people immediately plunges us into stormy beach action but fear not, most of them are in every chapter, so there’s no danger of drowning trying to recall who is who. An’ ‘ere’s ‘opin’ you’re likin’ apostrophes ‘cause there’s more o’ ‘em in this ‘ere tale than ‘errin’ in ‘er nettin’. Without the large cast’s unceasing dialectic dialogue including contemporary words (e.g., cotchering, scithers, congbells), this would be pretty standard saga fare; instead, well-scripted action combining intrigue, love, family secrets and violence provides a rollicking drama of, well yes, rowlocks and romance starring passionate Louisa, the eponymous maiden and Marlin, “the handsomest boatman on the beach”. I’d have liked a scene in France whence they collect their contraband and, to justify the

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title, more detail than just the smuggling and selling on of the lace. True, we briefly get “the legend of the lace” involving “a strange web of seaweed” fished up by a lovelorn chap, also “tiny waves topped with lace” and “waves (leaving) a fringe of lace across the shingle,” but that’s about it. Nevertheless this is a good fun yarn in authentic settings with natural and realistic scenes. All aboard the Curlew! Simon Rickman

GLASS TOWN

Isabel Greenberg, Abrams ComicArts, 2020, $24.99/C$31.99, hb, 224pp, 9781419732683

“None of this would’ve happened, if six hadn’t become four.” So Charlotte Brontë begins the story of how the remaining Brontë siblings – Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne – created their own imaginary world, Glass Town, after the death of their two older sisters, Elizabeth and Maria. This graphic novel intertwines the storylines of Glass Town with real events in the Brontës’ lives, primarily Charlotte’s. Glass Town and its inhabitants, their lives, loves and adventures, were the fruit of the Brontës’ juvenilia, their “scribblemania,” and it shows in the melodramatic and often childishly overwrought lives of the Glass Town characters. Charlotte retreats further and further into her imaginary world as one by one she loses her siblings in the real world. It’s easy to understand why she prefers Glass Town, where she can control events, to real life, where addiction claims her brother Branwell, though not before he squanders his talent and disappoints the entire family, and illness takes all her sisters. This leaves Charlotte alone in the rectory on the desolate moors with her curate father. Greenberg’s drawings are childlike and simplistic; the galley provided was black and white, but the finished hardcover will feature full-color illustrations, which should show the storyline to greater advantage. While there is sadness here, the main takeaway is the beauty of a child’s imagination – something modern children may have lost, with their faces constantly planted in screens. Greenberg showcases the excitement that literature, their father’s library, brought to these siblings, how they used it to stoke their creativity, craft these worlds which so stimulated their minds as well as provided an escape from the harshness of reality. Readers will enjoy joining Charlotte as she loses and finds herself again through her relationships with the inhabitants of Glass Town. Bethany Latham

WHERE THE LOST WANDER

Amy Harmon, Lake Union, 2020, $14.95, pb, 356pp, 9781542017961

A widow at twenty, Naomi May is bound for California with her family and her in-laws. She records the journey on paper, drawing the places and people she meets along the way. One man intrigues her, and she determinedly sets out to know him better as their wagon 28

train heads west. Doing so draws the ire of her father-in-law; he has plans – plans she wants nothing to do with – and pairing up with a “half-breed” isn’t one of them. John Lowry, sometimes known as Two Feet, is a stranger no matter which world he inhabits – that of his mother, a Pawnee, or that of his father, a white man who raises mules. The pretty woman who draws pictures piques his interest, even though she is nosy, stubborn, and unsettling. He intends to return home after delivering mules to the army, but the more he gets to know Naomi, the more he considers resettling in California and starting his own mule business. Fate, however, intervenes. A change in plans temporarily separates John from Naomi, and when a wagon breaks down, the Mays are left behind to make repairs. A tragic accident leads to slaughter, and hostile warriors capture Naomi and her baby brother. John vows to find Naomi, no matter how far or how long it takes. Harmon paints a vivid portrait of settlers crossing the country between 1853 and 1858 to begin a new life. Told from two perspectives – Naomi’s and John’s – Where the Lost Wander is as much a perilous story about heartache, prejudice, hatred, isolation, rape, and cultural differences, as it is an enduring tale of harmony, friendship, love, and hope. The characters are as real as you or I, and once met remain forever imprinted in the reader’s psyche. Cindy Vallar

THE GIRL WHO CAME FROM RAGS

Gracie Hart, Penguin, 2020, £6.99, pb, 340pp, 9781785038099

Leeds, 1869. This book, the third in the series, follows the fortunes of Eliza Wild, once a half-starved child from a mining family, and now the co-owner of a dressmaking business, set up with the help of her wealthy friend, Grace Ellershaw. It’s meant that Eliza has been able to buy a small house and give her sister’s illegitimate daughter, Victoria, a home. Eliza’s sweetheart, Tom Thackeray, is the manager at the Rose Pit, a coal mine supposedly run by Grace’s brother, George, a ne’er-do-well, who refuses to invest in the pumping machinery the pit desperately needs. When old Mr Ellershaw dies, unexpectedly bankrupt, there is a chance for Eliza to buy Rose Pit; but should she buy the pit for Tom, or should she buy out Grace, and keep her dress-making business? Tom wants to marry her, but Eliza knows that she risks everything she has fought for - by law, all the money and property a woman owns becomes her husband’s on her marriage. Parliament is currently debating the Married Woman’s Property Act which would ensure that the pit remained hers. Will Tom wait? I read this book very happily, but I confess that I found Eliza very much the also-ran in the story. The book opens with Eliza’s elder go-getting and shocking sister, the wealthy Mary-Anne, who now, after her struggles in the previous books, is the mistress of William, the new head of the Ellershaw family, a man

REVIEWS | Issue 92, May 2020

she is determined to marry – to the horror of the local wealthy families. Every time the sexy, level-headed, ambitious and slightly repellent Mary-Anne pops up, she grabs the reader’s full attention; what will she do next? It wasn’t until I read the blurb on the book’s back cover that I realised that Eliza was, supposedly, the main protagonist. Elizabeth Hawksley

A PROPER CHARADE

Esther Hatch, Covenant, 2020, $14.99, pb, 215pp, 9781524412319

Determined to prove to her brother, the Duke of Harrington, that she is not too frivolous to do hard work, Lady Patience Kendrick disguises herself and applies for a position as a maid in the household of his former commanding officer. General Woodsworth is not at his London residence, but his serious-minded son is. Like his staff, Anthony is charmed by this unusual new maid, for despite her incompetence she lifts everyone’s spirits; and when the lady he is courting suggests he pay attention to someone else to encourage her parents to accept his suit, he persuades Patience to play the role of a lady for this purpose. Patience and Anthony fall in love, but the obstacles are daunting. These are the elements of farce with promising potential, but what works on the stage does not easily transfer to the novel form, even a Victorian romance. The irony of the situation and the humorous scenes are entertaining; the plot, however, not only stretches credulity but is loosely structured. For comedy, the pace is slow; for a commentary upon rigid class hierarchy and conventions governing the conduct of the upper class, it is limited by its divided focus. Recommended to romantics. Ray Thompson

MISS AUSTEN

Gill Hornby, Century, 2019, £12.99, hb, 410pp, 9781529123760 / Flatiron, 2020, $26.99, hb, 288pp, 9781250252203

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a female author in possession of a good literary heritage is never in want of present-day writers to develop and extend her oeuvre. What a delightful novel this is! I had perhaps been expecting yet another mass-produced addition to the already oversupplied Jane Austen industry, but I was most agreeably surprised. We start in 1845, and Cassandra Austen, Jane’s literary executor and now an old lady (for then!) of 67, goes to the village of Kintbury, the home of the now-deceased Eliza, who was the sister of Cassy’s former fiancé.

Cassandra’s intention is to locate the letters that her sister Jane wrote to Eliza, with the nefarious (to us, leastways) determination of ensuring that nothing survives that would damage her sister’s posthumous reputation. She finds the bundles of correspondence, and we see some fictional letters that the younger Jane wrote at the end of the 18th century and later in her short life. Eliza’s daughter Isabella must clear her home, the rectory, following the death of her clergyman father Fulwar, and Cassy engages herself in attempting to help her uncertain future while carrying on the business with her sister’s letters. The narrative is told mostly from Cassy’s perspective, with sister Jane seen as more of a secondary character, but Gill Hornby has made a fine stab at re-creating her luminous prose in her letters. There are incidents and scenarios from Jane Austen’s fiction, with a sparky observation of the complications of family life, seen with Jane’s own waspish, but nonetheless affectionate humour in her correspondence. Beneath the Austen undercurrent of sharp humour, we see the unhappy position that genteel spinsters suffered in English society at the time – financially precarious and dependent upon family members to provide a home and acceptable standard of living. It is a most entertaining read. Douglas Kemp

A STROKE OF MALICE

Anna Lee Huber, Berkley, 2020, $17.00/ C$23.00, pb, 380pp, 9780451491381

In this latest of the Lady Darby mysteries, Kiera and her husband Gage are in Scotland, celebrating Twelfth Night at Sunlaws Castle, the 284-room Gothic home of the Duke and Duchess of Bowmont. It is January 1832, and the weather is cold and snowy. Indoors a large assembly of the aristocracy is ready and willing to party wildly. A group of guests, including Kiera and Gage, is led by the Lord of Misrule down a dank, dark tunnel reputed to be haunted. Instead of a ghost they find the body of a man, dead for some time, with all identifying features removed. Assuming it to be the missing Lord Helmswick, the pregnant Kiera and her attentive husband start to unravel the mystery of his disappearance and possible death, distracted by the sheer volume of affaires, mistresses, and illegitimate sons and daughters present at the party. In many ways this seems like a Regency romance, except that the protagonists are a married and affectionate couple. The vast old castle with its opulent furnishings, liveried staff and over-the-top party costumes and decorations makes a suitably grand and atmospheric setting. The characters – dukes and their duchesses, lords, ladies, butlers, valets, cads and bounders – all dressed in finery appropriate to their status – add to a richly detailed narrative. The author holds all this together with a perceptive emotional tone that transcends the details of plot and setting. The identity of the dead body, the motive and identity of the killer, and the unknown attacker

who tries to harm Kiera, all add suspense to the novel. Richly detailed and complex, this novel will delight anyone who enjoys mystery and suspense wrapped in period costume. Valerie Adolph

THE SLAUGHTERMAN’S DAUGHTER Yaniv Iczkovits, MacLehose Press, £18.99, hb, 525pp, 9780857058270

2020,

Motal – an isolated town in the Pale of Settlement, Russia. 1894. Fanny Kreismann is only ten when she develops a fascination for her father’s trade – a slaughterman. Like any indulgent father he gives her a knife and teaches her the skills of his trade. However, she can never follow in her father’s footsteps, and in time she marries and devotes herself to raising her five children. When Fanny’s older sister’s husband disappears, Fanny leaves her family and sets out for the great city of Minsk in search of him. Armed only with a knife and accompanied by Zirek Bershov – old soldier, a man of few words and hero or rogue, depending on your point of view. Together they begin a misadventure that will turn the Secret Police against the Army and upset the whole social and political order. Like a Russian doll, the novel has stories within stories as the layers of the characters are peeled away. The book is dark and gothic and at times almost unbelievable while the author brings alive the grinding poverty, ignorance, and endemic anti-Semitism of the period. There is also humour, pathos and keenly observed characterisation. If you are looking for something different to read – taking you out of your reading comfort zone – this is for you. Recommended. Mike Ashworth

THE GREAT TEXAS DANCE

Mark C. Jackson, Five Star, 2020, $25.95, hb, 297pp, 9781432868505

In 1836, Zebadiah Creed and his friend Granger are in the Alamo, surrounded by the Mexican Army led by Santa Anna. Ordered to leave the Alamo and try to bring reinforcements, Creed and Granger first arrive at Gonzales with a letter from Colonel Travis for Sam Houston. Unable to meet with Houston, Creed becomes separated from Granger and travels alone to Goliad and joins a small band of Texan soldiers. After Santa Anna defeats those at the Alamo, his army arrives at Goliad. Creed helps in the fight. After the Texans are defeated, Creed is able to escape imprisonment and rides to meet up with Sam Houston’s main army. This novel continues the adventures of Zebadiah Creed after he leaves New Orleans as the first book in the series ended. I enjoyed this interpretation of the Texas Revolution by an author who has written another character-driven novel filled with adventure and excitement, although descriptions of the actual battle scenes are kept to a minimum.

I feel this book can stand alone, although reading the first book would help the reader understand how Creed changed since he left his home several years ago. Jeff Westerhoff

SIMON THE FIDDLER

Paulette Jiles, Morrow, 2020, $27.99/ C$34.99/£20.00, hb, 352pp, 9780062966742

Simon Boudin, a Southerner by birth, doesn’t care about the Civil War, nearing its bloody end in March 1865. An itinerant fiddler who lives by and for music, he plays wherever he can, until Confederate conscription men grab him and ship him to Texas. After the war, destitute save for his precious fiddle, he forms a motley musical ensemble and returns to work, always avoiding Union soldiers, who’ll inevitably demand to see the discharge papers he doesn’t have. However, when military governor Colonel Webb hires Simon’s ensemble for a party, Simon sees Doris Dillon, the Irish-born governess serving the Webb family. Simon resolves to make himself respectable—which, to him, means owning land—and woo Doris. Setbacks, even tragedy, intervene, but Simon is nothing if not resourceful. Jiles knows music the way she knows Texas of that era, which is to say, inside out. Many songs that Simon plays have faded from popularity, but a few still known and loved, especially “Red River Valley,” almost become characters in the story. Unfortunately, aside from the prose, which dances to a pretty melody, I can’t say that Jiles has equaled her previous novel, News of the World. Unlike Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd (that novel’s protagonist, who appears here in a cameo), Simon has a narrow worldview, few edges or complexities, and only one real character blemish, a quick temper. As for Doris, she’s perfect—beautiful, sweet-natured, strong, witty, passionate, a young man’s dream—whereas Colonel Webb’s villainies are too many to count. The pages turn, but melodrama sometimes ensues. Even so, Simon the Fiddler makes a good yarn, and the world loves a lover. If you value literary prose and a vivid portrayal of late 1860s Texas, this book might be for you. Larry Zuckerman

A FATAL FINALE

Kathleen Marple Kalb, Kensington, 2020, $26.00/C$35.00/£19.99, hb, 298pp, 9781496727237

A Fatal Finale is the first in a new mystery series by Kathleen Marple Kalb, set in New York City in 1899, featuring opera singer Ella Shane. Ella, the daughter of a Jewish mother and an Irish Catholic father, was orphaned at an early age and grew up in the tenements of the Lower East Side. Now she is one of the leading singers of her time, a mezzo-soprano specializing in trouser roles—male roles sung by women. She lives with her cousin Tommy, a retired boxer who, it is strongly suggested, is gay, and who manages her career. They have a loveable parrot named Montezuma, who

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sings along when Ella practices. When Ella and her company are on tour, the soprano singing Juliet to her Romeo dies on stage. Her death is ruled an accident, but when a British duke claiming to be a relative of the dead singer arrives in New York, he is not convinced her death was an accident. Ella helps him to investigate, and soon finds herself attracted to the duke, much to her surprise, since she has always thought of herself as married to her career, and she thinks a duke can only have dishonorable intentions toward an opera singer. This is the start of a wonderful new series. Ella is an amazing character, an expert at fencing and cycling, besides her singing career. She is fiercely independent, having resisted all suitors, and wants to stay that way, even though people keep reminding her that, in her mid-thirties, she will soon be too old for motherhood. Kalb paints a vivid portrait of New York at the end of the 19th century. The supporting cast includes several strong women as well, such as Ella’s friends, reporter Hetty and physician Dr. Silver. Highly recommended. Vicki Kondelik

WHERE THE STARS MEET THE SEA

Heidi Kimball, Covenant, 2020, $15.99, pb, 256pp, 9781524410414

Twenty-year-old Juliet Graham is waiting only for her majority to take control of her inheritance and the guardianship of her schoolboy brother, Harry. Until then, the orphaned siblings are ruled by their unkind Aunt Agnes, whose likable son Robert Nicholson wants to marry Juliet. Then Juliet falls in love with the handsome Duke of Halstead at his Norfolk castle. Halstead has been injured in a riding accident, suffers chronic pain, and has vowed never to marry. Juliet feels their social positions are too unequal for a successful union anyway. As the two struggle against their growing attraction, Aunt Agnes blackmails Juliet toward an unwanted marriage with Robert by threatening young Harry. Within this typical Regency plot lies a thoughtful, layered story. Readers won’t want to leave the characters when the book ends. Scenes of Juliet and Halstead stargazing in the observatory are especially lovely, and on a personal note, I liked his scent of “pipe smoke and balsam.” Two thoughts: The author should have at least eased, if not relieved Halstead’s intractable pain. And Robert, the unexceptionable suitor, deserves his own book. Elizabeth Knowles

THE BRIDGE TO BELLE ISLAND

Julie Klassen, Bethany House, 2019, $15.99, pb, 400pp, 9780764218194

Benjamin Booker, a handsome London attorney, is dispatched to the Wilder estate on fictional Belle Island, an idyllic island in the Thames, by Robert Hardy, his mentor and the senior partner of Norris, Hardy and Hunt, to offer legal advice and investigate the murder of Percival Norris. The courtroom scene in the opening chapter is loosely based on an actual transcript from the Old Bailey. The epigraphs relate to happenings later in the novel. We witness Booker’s humiliation as he loses the case due to his mistaken trust in the supposed innocence of a beautiful woman. As he investigates the elegant Isabelle Wilde, the chief suspect, he struggles with his attraction to her. This Regency novel is essentially a clever mystery with a subplot of sweet romance between the two protagonists. Klassen piles up clues, teasing us with a multitude of suspects with motives for murdering Percy Norris, trustee of the Wilder estate. They include Captain Evan Curtis (Isabelle’s first love) sent to fight in Spain; Christopher Adair (fiancé of Isabelle’s niece Rose), arrogant and dissatisfied with the betrothal agreement; and Dr. Teddy Grant. From the beginning, I believed in kind, gentle Isabelle’s complete innocence. Our heroine has not left the island in ten years since the premature deaths of her parents and sister. She believes in the Wilder curse: any Wilder born on the island who leaves also dies young. Her panic attack when forced to cross the bridge is harrowing. Throw in laudanum, dangerous smugglers, shady dealings, a flood, a violent storm and voilà: adventure. The action-packed climax had me on the edge. The reveal of the killer came as a complete surprise. The love story is slow to bloom but does not disappoint: this is the time of Jane Austen. Gail M. Murray

IVYWOOD MANOR

Tani Loo, Brain Mill Press, 2019, $15.95/£12.95, pb, 190pp, 9781948559416

When we first meet the nine-yearold Charlotte Herring in the prologue of Ivywood Manor, she is an orphan arriving at an extravagant manor in the winter of 1866. There she meets her adoptive family consisting of Mr. van Kirk, his wife, and son. On her first night at Ivywood Manor, Charlotte dreams of ravens circling in her head, setting a foreboding tone to the gothic novella. Fast forward to January 1885, and Charlotte is a young woman struggling to understand her place in the adoptive household. Mr. Van Kirk’s son, Victor, has returned from Europe with his fiancée. There are rumors that he has gambled away a fortune and is marrying her for money. The atmosphere ominously changes after their summer wedding and Victor returns with his wife to the manor. Tensions escalate

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as Charlotte discovers a dark secret about her heritage and her connection to Mr. Van Kirk. Tani Loo has created a haunting, neoGothic tale about how a displaced, biracial woman must come to terms with her past and adjust to new circumstances that befall her. The story is rich in detail about the manor and everyday living. The changing seasons set the atmospheric tone of the tale. Although the story is told in first person from Charlotte’s perspective, I felt distant from her. Her internal thoughts and emotions about what is happening around her never fully bubble to the surface until the heartfelt moment when she discovers who she truly is. Readers who enjoy gothic tales set in the backdrop of the Victorian British Empire might enjoy this novella full of dark secrets hiding behind every corner. Linnea Tanner

WHISPERS IN THE CANYON

Gifford Macshane, Soul Mate, 2020, $16.99/£13.99, pb, 353pp, 9781647160166

The Donovan family, led by Irish immigrant father John Patrick and grandmother Katie, has settled in Arizona during the 1880s. John Patrick’s and wife Molly’s large brood of children are hard-working, each drawn with distinct physical features, abilities, and sensitivities, as they contribute to the operation of the Donovan ranch. The family’s lifestyle is more prosperous than most, but nevertheless subject to the hardships and deprivations of frontier life. Eldest son Adam foils a bank robbery and rides to Travers Canyon to inform the bandit’s family at their decrepit ranch. The news proves the last straw for the bandit’s father, and his daughter Jesse is left with the family’s large, but untended, ranch. Adam works to gain Jesse’s trust, driven initially by Irish guilt that the Donovan’s could have done more for the Travers family before the robbery. Adam’s feelings for Jesse deepen as her brother’s treachery towards his family is slowly revealed. Adam and his family hide his mavourneen Jesse’s horrid family secret and dig deep within themselves to heal her. The Donovan family’s Irish heritage becomes the heartbeat of the story. Lyrics, wit, mysticism, healing powers, dress, and traditions brought over from the auld country are deftly layered throughout. The intricate dynamics of the Donovan family become the centerpiece of a story of the ‘ol West that doesn’t rely on the usual action sequences such as gunfights, cattle rustling, Indian fights or buffalo hunts to shape the characters. Brodie Curtis

HIS SECRET MISTRESS

Cathy Maxwell, Avon, 2020, $7.99/C$10.99, pb, 368pp, 9780062897268

When he learns from his sister that her son, the Duke of Winderton, is so infatuated with an actress that he intends to marry her,

architect Brandon Balfour is amused. His attitude abruptly changes, however, when he learns her name, for Kate Addison broke his heart when she left him for another. Righteous indignation turns to stunned outrage when she shows no remorse, rather accuses him of betraying her. Clearly if they are to find a second chance at love, much will have to be sorted out. Fortunately, not only have both gained some hard-earned wisdom over the past fifteen years, but the old spark remains and it rapidly rekindles. The progress of their romance demonstrates the importance of compromise if two people are to establish a happy relationship. Past errors and misunderstandings need to be forgiven, future plans modified, fresh opportunities seized. Kate is an admirable heroine: capable, yet caring; talented, yet honest about her own flaws. Her experiences, past and current, reveal the vulnerable situation of actresses in a world of male privilege during the Regency era, and her determination to prove her worth in the face of adversity is truly heroic. Recommended. Ray Thompson

THE ABSTAINER

Ian McGuire, Random House, 2020, $27.00, hb, 320pp, 9780593133873 / Scribner, 2020, £14.99, hb, 368pp, 9781471163593

Following the success of his second novel, The North Water, Ian McGuire returns with the page-turning tale of two Irishmen in 1860s Manchester, England, set on different paths of justice and vengeance. The Abstainer takes its departure point from a real-life event: the 1867 hanging of three Irishmen in Manchester for the suspected murder of a British policeman. From there, McGuire unspools a gritty and moody story of James O’Connor, the abstainer of the novel’s title, recently sober and fleeing his native Dublin, chased by ghosts of a dead wife and missed chances. Now a policeman for the Manchester division, he is used to infiltrate an underground group known as the Fenians, an Irish brotherhood dedicated to the destruction of British rule by violent means at every turn. His nemesis is the Irish American Civil War veteran Stephen Doyle, fresh from the blood-soaked battlefields of America, who covertly enters Manchester to exact vengeance for the three hanged Irish rebels. The unexpected arrival of O’Connor’s nephew from America raises the personal stakes for the quiet Irish lawman when the young lad volunteers to infiltrate the Fenians to find Doyle. The Abstainer succeeds in keeping the reader tense and uneasy, much like the polluted, portentous air hanging over Manchester. The brooding and lyrically written cat-and-mouse narrative of Doyle and O’Connor is excellent; however, one feels a lost opportunity for a more complex historical novel populated with deeper back stories. But if the reader is looking for a taut tale exploring the brutal vagaries of men’s hearts, The Abstainer is a provocative

novel that invites further discovery of a troubled time. Peggy Kurkowski

A PERFECT SILHOUETTE

Judith Miller, Bethany House, 2019, $15.99, pb, 329pp, 9780764232206

Judith Miller’s A Perfect Silhouette is a charming if over-moralized story of one young woman who must go to work in the mills of antebellum Manchester, New Hampshire, in order to provide support for her widowed sister and her children. Mellicent “Mellie” Blanchard, a former private tutor, faces a steep learning curve as she adjusts to millwork—the roaring noise and humidity of the weaving and spinning rooms, the ten-hour day punctuated by rushed meal times, and the rigidity of her landlady, who is an integral part of the whole system. Mellie begins to find a balance by starting to work in a photography shop in town using her skill at German paper cutting, and by meeting and growing closer to William Morgan, who introduces himself as a mechanic at the mill. A Perfect Silhouette provides an accessible, detailed impression of Manchester as a mill town in this period. Readers get a sense of its layout. Mellie is a sympathetic character, although I don’t think she undergoes any great transformation in the novel. William Morgan changes more, and the sections of the novel written from his perspective are more interesting. But the remainder of the characters seem underdeveloped, even for supporting roles. In the dialogue, characters spell out their motivations and reasoning, and give each other the benefit of the doubt to a degree I found unrealistic. The narration also often over-elaborates on the moral implications of the characters’ actions and decisions. That said, the inter-class dynamics are well done. The novel’s moral sense is strongest there. This is a cozy novel with a compelling heroine in which the setting is nicely drawn. If readers interested in the early days of American industrialization can consider the novel’s tone as part of that setting, they will enjoy Mellie’s story. Irene Colthurst

SOLVING SOPHRONIA

Jennifer Moore, Covenant, 2020, $14.99, pb, 224pp, 9781524412357

London, 1873. Undeterred by the obstacles, Lady Sophronia Bremerton determines to prove to her skeptical editor than she can be an investigative reporter, not just a society columnist. She has the support of a group of like-minded friends, The Blue Orchid Society, but can she convince Detective Jonathan Graham to include her in his murder investigation? Because of the danger, he is understandably reluctant, but the case is difficult, and she does have some valuable skills: keen powers of observation, good sense, a remarkable memory, and talent as a sketch

artist. Mutual appreciation warms to much more, but can the wide social gap between a member of the aristocracy and a former street urchin be spanned? The mystery is involving, the danger suspenseful, and the conditions suitably daunting, especially in the slums. The aristocratic villain is a bit formulaic, but his sense of arrogant privilege is widely shared among his class as the novel shows, even if few are as ruthless. The developing romance between the pair is handled well and the resolution gratifying. Strongly recommended, and watch out for more books in this series. Ray Thompson

THE BELL IN THE LAKE

Lars Mytting (trans. Deborah Dawkin), MacLehose Press, 2020, £16.99, hb, 390pp, 9780857059376 / Overlook, 2020, $27.00, hb, 400pp, 9781419743184

Mytting has a thing about wood. He is the author of the best-selling non-fiction book Norwegian Wood, and his first novel was The Sixteen Trees of the Somme. The Bell in the Lake, set in Butangen, Norway, in 1880, centres on the fate of a farming c o m m u n i t y ’s stave church, an exemplar of wooden buildings dating from the Middle Ages (some estimates suggest there were once close to two thousand examples in Norway alone). Life is hard: in winter the dead remain unburied until the ground thaws. The sturdy, restless and forthright Astrid Hekne dreams of a life beyond the bounds of domesticity and working the unforgiving land. It was her ancestor who forged the twin bells in the church’s tower, in memory of his conjoined daughters; the bells are said to have supernatural powers. Two strangers disrupt Astrid’s existence, and she theirs: the new pastor, Kai Schweigaard, with his modernising ideas, and then Gerhard Schönauer, architectural student from Dresden, on the trail of the church’s extraordinary carvings (think Kilpeck, but in wood). Mytting’s imagery (in Deborah Dawkin’s limpid translation) is beautiful: ‘Age left no trace in stone, for that the stone itself was already too old, but it made its mark in wood as in a human face.’ The church is to be demolished, and reconstructed piece by numbered piece, in Dresden, but it is the fate of the Sister Bells which will determine the destiny of the three main characters. Mytting’s novel was based on local stories, but it is his evoking of the parsonage interior, the turn of the seasons and their physical impress on man and beast that give this book its vividness. I am grateful that this novel, whilst self-contained,

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is the first in a trilogy. I also rather hope that someone will sensitively film it. Katherine Mezzacappa

THE SONG OF PETERLOO

Carolyn O’Brien, Legend Press, 2019, £8.99/$15.99, pb, 272pp, 9781789550757

Despite the cover image, this novel is not a traditional “clogs and shawls” novel. It is 1818. Times are hard for the low-paid cottonmill workers in Manchester. Like many industrial towns of the early 19th century, they had no representation in Parliament. Nancy Kay is the sole wageowner for herself, her ailing elderly mother and her son Walter. Walter is thought to be “soft in the head” and babyish, who would today be classed towards the higher end of the autistic spectrum. Nancy works in the noisy, dirty and dangerous spinning room of Wright’s Mill. She wishes she could read and write, but without money and time, this is only a dream. After the death of his uncle, Samson Wright, not brought up to be a wealthy industrialist, preferring his books and especially his piano, inherits Wright’s cotton-mill in Manchester and so life changes for both him and Nancy. In the spring and summer of 1819, small meetings take place throughout Lancashire where advocates of parliamentary reform and workers’ rights tell the workers how the powers-that-be ignored them. In fact they didn’t ignore them, but were determined to arrest and imprison them. The inspired workers assemble in St Peter’s Field in Manchester on 16th August to hear the well-known orator, Henry Hunt. Of course, the Prime Minister and his government get wind of this and send hundreds of soldiers and special constables. The carnage that ensues is thenceforth known as “The Peterloo Massacre”, as it came only four years after the Battle of Waterloo. Carolyn O’Brien’s novel is a compelling account of this fateful day in British political history. The facts are accurate; the characterisation sharply focused. It tells a love story, but not in a sentimental way, and nor is it depressing. Highly recommended.

them to intercede on behalf of Prince Albert Victor. Apparently, the Prince has gifted an extremely expensive diamond gift on Aurore, the proprietress of an exclusive London private club which he frequents—and the gift can easily be traced back to him. Lady Wellie’a greatest fear is that discovery of Albert’s gift to the madam will cause a scandal of epic proportions and threaten the monarchy. At the same time, London is being rocked by the Jack the Ripper murders, so everyone is on edge. Veronica and Stoker take on the assignment, partly because of Veronica’s connection to the royal family and because of their great affection for Wellie. But when they go undercover at the brothel, a body soon turns up. What would a Speedwell mystery be like without a corpse? This is perhaps my favorite series—not merely quick reading and filled with memorable characters and plots, but because we are given great insight into Victorian London. My own recommendation is that everyone with a sense of humor and humanity really needs to read the Speedwell books! Ilysa Magnus

THE SONS OF PHILO GAINES

Michael R. Ritt, Five Star, 2020, $25.95, hb, 328pp, 9781432871031

The legacy of Matthew Gaines’s father, legendary fighting man and Texas Ranger, looms large in the lives of his three sons. The book opens with a focus on prissy, welleducated Matthew. He leaves the East coast to take up a schoolteacher’s life in Mustang Flats, Texas. There, he meets the lovely Katie who is engaged to the resident bad guy, but whose charms make it clear that she will cause him trouble to come. The book is presented in four parts, one covering each son, and the last covering all three of them together. All the expected Western tropes appear such that the blurb on the cover even mentions the iconic Louis L’Amour, who was undoubtedly the author’s muse. While there is plenty of action and adventure, and a lovely twist of an ending, I found the characters to be inconsistent, especially Matthew. He is portrayed as shy, bookish, and snobby, but somehow quickly morphs into an angry action star who doesn’t think twice about challenging the status quo. The villain and the women came across as twodimensional and stereotypical. Still, readers more interested in good old-fashioned rabblerousing than character studies will find this tale just what they are looking for. Xina Marie Uhl

Sally Zigmond

A MURDEROUS RELATION

Deanna Raybourn, Berkley, 2020, $26.00/ C$35.00, hb, 320pp, 9780451490742

This is the fifth installment of what is a delightful, delicious series starring Veronica Speedwell and her “colleague” Stoker. In the fall of 1888, Veronica and Stoker are invited to visit Lady Wellie, who asks 32

AN HEIRESS TO REMEMBER

Maya Rodale, Avon, 2020, $7.99, pb, 353pp, 9780062838841

Set in the Gilded Age of New York City, An Heiress to Remember opens with American heiress Beatrice Goodwin choosing a life of duty over a life with love. Sixteen years later,

REVIEWS | Issue 92, May 2020

she’s back in New York City and determined to live life without a cage. Unfortunately, the beloved family department store has suffered under her brother’s leadership, and her mother is determined to re-match her. Even if she possesses the ingenuity and strength to turn Goodwin’s around, she will find herself formidably opposed. Beatrice has never forgotten her first love, and he has never forgiven her. An Heiress to Remember is the third in Rodale’s non-sequential Gilded Age series, and explores the freedoms (and lack thereof) enjoyed by women as the century turns. Inspired by historical people and events, Rodale’s Beatrice is a vibrant and take-no-prisoners woman surrounded by a supportive group of female entrepreneurs and industry leaders. Modern narrative style sets Rodale’s voice apart and brings a fresh angle to the genre. Anna Bennett

A COMPLETING OF THE WATSONS

Rose Servitova, Wooster Publishing, 2019, $14.95, pb, 256pp, 9781788461153

Raised apart from her family by a doting, wealthy aunt, Emma Watson, finding her expectations of an inheritance dashed by her aunt’s imprudent remarriage, returns to her modest home and to an uncertain future. With their clergyman father in precarious health, Emma and her three older sisters face the prospect of dependency, penury, or servitude as teachers or governesses unless they can find suitable husbands. So The Watsons, a novel that Jane Austen put aside after a few chapters and never resumed, begins. Rose Servitova is the latest author to take on the challenge of completing Austen’s abandoned novel. In doing so, she creates a number of new characters, several of whom are quite engaging, and appears to draw from Austen’s completed novels for various strands of her story. I did find one major element of the plot to be implausible, as it struck me as unlikely that one party to a misunderstanding would be so easily misled, and the other so passive. The ending feels rushed, and I was disappointed that some of Austen’s own creations, who appeared to be destined to play a prominent role in the story, were relegated to the sidelines. All in all, though, this is an enjoyable read, made the more so by a couple of pleasant surprises. Susan Higginbotham

THE PRINCE OF BROADWAY

Joanna Shupe, Avon, 2020, $7.99/$C10.99, pb, 376pp, 9780062906830

Florence Greene is a woman ahead of her time – spirited, fearless and determined to control her own life. Her goal is to open a casino exclusively for women in an age when gambling is illegal. Already well-versed in numerous casino games, she hires Clayton Madden, the brooding and reclusive owner of the most exclusive casino in 1890s New York, to

teach her the day-to-day business, how to stay one step ahead of the law and how to spot and deal with cheaters. Naturally, these lessons begin as one sort and turn into an altogether different kind in short shrift. Unbeknownst to Florence, however, Clay is determined to ruin her father in recompense for wrongs done to his family. But it doesn’t take long for the beautiful, quick-witted Florence to get under his skin or for him to almost lose her. Second in a series, The Prince of Broadway is a well-paced steamy romp with some highly inventive and explicit sexual trysts. A predictable ending didn’t deter this reader in the least! (And no, it isn’t wedding bells.) Recommended. Fiona Alison

EDGAR ALLAN POE AND THE EMPIRE OF THE DEAD

Karen Lee Street, Point Blank, 2019, £9.99, pb, 342 pp, 9781786076410 / Pegasus Crime, 2020, $25.95, hb, 352pp, 9781643134222

This is the third of Street’s Poe and Dupin mysteries, in which Edgar Allan Poe collaborates with his own fictional detective of “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”. Still mourning the death of his young wife, Sissy, though visited by her wraith, Poe receives a letter from Auguste Dupin in Paris asking his help in tracking down stolen correspondence, but the summons proves to be a skilful forgery, designed to bring the two men into the clutches of Dupin’s nemesis Ernest Valdemar and Poe’s old enemy George Reynolds. Street’s prose captures pretty convincingly Poe’s own voice, and there will be much here that those who know his writings well will recognise, with references particularly to “The Facts of the Case of M. Valdemar”. Late 1840s Paris is vividly evoked, from both the pretentiousness of literary salons and the sinister marionette theatre above ground, to the catacombs below, with their network of tunnels and ossuaries and even a mushroom farm with its maimed workers. We are in the realm of magical realism, where the fictional Dupin is made flesh and blood, and where, through the transmigration of souls, or metempsychosis, both the good and the evil are able to cheat death – though a weaker or needier person always pays. Just as in Poe’s own story “Valdemar”, which he published without immediately enlightening those who read it as a factual account, the author plays with the reader in the most intriguing ways. Who really is Dupin’s enigmatic housekeeper Mme. Morel, and is the Great Berith simply a showman, an accomplished magician or someone much more sinister? A gripping read, and a worthy homage to Poe’s genius. Katherine Mezzacappa

ANSWER CREEK

Ashley E. Sweeney, She Writes, 2020, $16.95, pb, 326pp, 9781631528446

Sweeney’s absorbing sophomore novel follows 19-year-old Ada Weeks as she travels

along the Oregon-California Trail in 1846. Recently orphaned, Ada attaches herself to the Breen family to walk across the continent toward the hope of a better life in California. But when their party leader, George Donner, chooses to take the Hastings Cutoff rather than stick to the main trail, the party finds itself stuck in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the dead of winter and must make unimaginable choices to survive. Sweeney immerses the reader in the time and place, giving a brilliant picture of daily trail life, particularly from a woman’s perspective. Readers will feel thirst as Ada and her party cross the Great Salt Desert and will shiver and despair as they huddle together during the blizzards that trap them in the mountains. Stronger still is Ada’s character development. Always scrappy and resourceful, Ada develops a grit and determination on the trail that serves her well when she, at last, reaches California. Sweeney deftly gives readers a feel for the horrible choices some members of the Donner Party had to make without being gory. She also is careful to preserve the humanity of those who resorted to cannibalism—a humanity that too often is removed from histories that find it easier to write these members of the Donner Party off as crazy. The novel’s only flaw is the final chapter, where Sweeney jumps forward to show Ada’s present-day descendants. This chapter is out of tune with the rest of the novel and could have been left off entirely. The penultimate chapter’s last glimpse of Ada would have served much better as the book’s finale. Overall, however, readers will cheer for Ada Weeks and find themselves asking just how far they, themselves, would go to survive. Sarah Hendess

NOT MY FATHER’S HOUSE

Loretta Miles Tollefson, Palo Flechado Press, 2019, $14.99, pb, 334pp, 9780998349886

Teenage bride Suzanna Locke is a city girl, if you can call Taos, New Mexico in the early 1800s a city. Now she’s stuck in a cabin in a high mountain valley several days’ ride from the familiar warmth of Taos. And she’s pregnant. And she’s being watched from the surrounding wilderness by a vicious trapper with a taste for rape and murder. Foiled by Suzanna’s young husband Gerald in an earlier assault on her in Taos, Enoch Jones now bides his time, waiting for a second opportunity, now in a more secluded setting. Author Loretta Miles Tollefson skillfully portrays the almost palpable loneliness Suzanna experiences in her remote new home, coupled with fear of Jones. It’s difficult to say which emotion wears on Suzanna more. Light and darkness, heat and cold reinforce the young woman’s reaction to the forces arrayed against her. Her high valley home has winter weather and short days eight months of the year, anathema to an avid gardener like Suzanna. Even the windowpanes in her cabin are more a source of darkness than light,

being made of barely translucent mica instead of unobtainable glass. Tollefson handles suspense well through an ebb and flow of tension. Present tense, used throughout, may be more distracting than effective. The setting authentically portrays the distinctive New Mexican culture of the 1820s, as Anglo traders filtered into the predominantly Mexican and Indian area. Suzanna personifies the cultural milieu, being herself a mix of New Englander and Native American, but with feelings and desires common to any race. This novel, one of a series, balances characterization and plot to deliver a story with both excitement and depth. Loyd Uglow

LADY LAW AND THE TEXAS DERANGERS

Xina Marie Uhl, XC Publishing, 2019, $12.99, pb, 242pp, 9781087803135

Uhl describes this story as a cross between Romancing the Stone and Blazing Saddles. Texie Cortez has inherited her father’s sheriff badge, keeping order in the town of Abalone, Texas, in 1892. The arrival of gambler/con man Alec Malone disrupts Texie’s plans to find the murdering Bully Flamenco gang, which has returned after being chased off in the past. Attracted to Texie, Alec follows her posse, only to run into an ex-partner and get himself shot. Will Texie be able to keep charge of the posse, deal with murdering thieves, and handle a wounded suitor all at the same time? Uhl injects humor into the story with character names like Snarly Pete and Rancho McGillicuddy, by having the villain be uncharacteristically fond of madeleines, and with turns of phrase such as “[They] ran over to the pig pen like they were chased by six angry bulls and a ball of lightning.” The romance between Texie and Alec has enough pushpull, will-they-won’t-they to be interesting throughout. A female sheriff is a cool twist on the standard Western trope. Readers who like humor in their romances or Westerns will have a good time with this novel. B. J. Sedlock

THE ENGINEER’S WIFE

Tracey Enerson Wood, Sourcebooks, 2020, $26.99/C$38.99, hb, 352pp, 9781492698135

In the tradition of many recent novels bringing to light the stories of forgotten women from America’s past, meet Emily Warren Roebling, wife of Wash Roebling, chief engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge. The Engineer’s Wife is a warm and human story of an extraordinary young woman. Emily first meets Wash Roebling at a military ball where he was her brother’s aide. Their romance grows against the backdrop of the Civil War and, when the conflict is over, they marry. From the outset, Emily is an unconventional wife, insisting on travelling within America and overseas with her bridgebuilding husband and father-in-law. But when Wash takes on the project of building

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the Brooklyn Bridge, Emily has no idea of how involved she will become or how the long years of bridge-building will shape their lives and marriage. Tracey Enerson Wood presents a vivid and compelling window into late 19th-century America and New York City. Emily Warren Roebling’s contribution to the building of the Brooklyn Bridge was remarkable and makes for a fascinating read. The scope of the project, the perils its builders faced, and the debilitating effect of decompression sickness on Wash Roebling are vividly described. Emily takes on a years-long challenge to gain the respect of her engineers as she learns complex skills from her husband, his books, and the employment of her own strong intellect. Much of the focus of the story is on the tensions that arise between Emily and Wash over the years, and Wood chooses to create a love triangle between the two and PT Barnum. Since this is clearly fictitious, some readers may feel it detracts from what is otherwise a convincing fact-based portrait of an underrecognized figure, as well as an engrossing story about the building of an iconic landmark. Kate Braithwaite

HOW MUCH OF THESE HILLS IS GOLD

C. Pam Zhang, Riverhead, 2020, $26.00, hb, 288pp, 9780525537205

Sam and Lucy are at one of life’s terrible crossroads: their father has just died, with their mother gone before. The orphans, age eleven and twelve, are left destitute in the rented chicken house-turnedhome. Lacking a pair of silver dollars to close their Ba’s eyes and weigh down his spirit, Sam takes his pistol to the bank. They flee on a horse stolen by Lucy, hauling their father’s disintegrating body with them. Lucy had promised Ma to bury family members “at home,” but their parents were born in China. Where is home, and how shall the siblings survive? C. Pam Zhang explores that, and much more in How Much of These Hills Is Gold. This fascinating historical novel is a fever-dream trek from one worked-out California gold field to another while Ms. Zhang deftly unspools the family’s past. At the same time, the author slowly unravels the tension between Lucy and Sam, who despite sporting a boy’s clothing and swagger, is revealed to be Lucy’s younger sister. Sam may be tough as rawhide, but her feral determination is matched by Lucy’s inner steel. This book grabbed me on many levels – Ms. 34

Zhang’s puzzle-box adventure and her jagged, yet lyrical prose, while Lucy and Sam’s trek struck bright echoes from my own travels in arid gold country. The love-anger relationship between sisters and parents will ring clearly with anyone who ever had a fraught relationship with a family member. I can’t recommend How Much of These Hills Is Gold more highly. Jo Ann Butler

VILLA LOBOS

Michael Zimmer, Five Star, 2020, $25.95, hb, 338pp, 9781432868406

Big spenders have arrived to wager on the once-a-year horse races and prize fights in the south Texas town of Rio Largo. Knowing there’s lots of money in the hotel and bank vaults, Ben Hollister’s outlaw gang raids the town. The gang gets away with bags of money and hightails it for Mexico. Sergeant Andrew Cade and seven U.S. Army troopers are escorting three hookers back to El Paso. Some enterprising soldiers had snuck them into a troop train bound for Fort Stockton but were found out. Cade’s men ride on horseback; a mule-pulled wagon carries the women. Hollister’s gang stumbles on Cade’s group and steals everything except two of the mules. Instead of turning back, Cade and his men trek after Hollister. A posse led by Rio Largo’s tough old sheriff is also chasing Hollister’s gang. Hollister’s destination is the town of Villa Lobos—House of Wolves—across the Rio Grande. Sergeant Cade and Rio Largo’s sheriff both figure that’s where Hollister is headed. But the three groups don’t realize that even greater dangers await them. Villa Lobos, its humble farmers and herders, and the surrounding region are ruled by a small army of brutal outlaws and beset by Geronimo’s marauding warriors. A deadly multi-level grab for money, power, women and revenge unfolds. Zimmer, an award-winning western author, knows the terrain, the weather, the weapons, the animals and the people of this forbidding land. The action—there’s lots of it—does not overpower the characters, their deeper motivations and honest feelings. Despite many quick point-of-view changes, the layered story flows fast and well. Zimmer’s prose and dialogue fit nicely. Villa Lobos is a solid addition to the post-Civil-War lore of the Southwest. G. J. Berger

20TH CENTURY

doctor’s wife is murdered on race day. But nothing makes sense. Who was Martha Mason? Who did she see in the crowd at the racetrack? Did that person murder her and why? As Henry and Mickey begin to sort through Martha’s belongings, they discover a handgun and a small key. Why Martha, a rural doctor’s wife, has a gun hidden among her things is a mystery to her own husband. Delving into Martha’s past, the police begin to learn that Martha was not who everyone thought she was, that her shady past may have come back to haunt her and in that past was the seed of her own destruction. There are a number of modern police procedural series that I enjoy. I was surprised, however, that this series caught and kept my interest, but Adams has a way of creating tight plots and fascinating characters. I’m now going to go back and read the others. Ilysa Magnus

THE DECENT INN OF DEATH

Rennie Airth, Penguin, 2020, $16.00/ C$22.00/£13.99, pb, 354pp, 9780143134299

The Decent Inn of Death is the sixth in Airth’s John Madden series and focuses on Madden’s former boss, retired Chief Inspector Angus Sinclair, during wintertime in the 1950s. While Madden and his wife Helen, Sinclair’s doctor, are on vacation, Sinclair visits an old friend and gets drawn into a mystery in his village. A detective is never really retired, so Sinclair digs in. His pursuit of the truth results in a classic locked room mystery where he is snowed in at the home of Julia Lesage, paralyzed former skier, and among the confined guests, there may be a sociopath. I’ve dipped in and out of this series and wondered how much I’d remember these characters, but such is the power of Airth’s writing that they all came back to me. Although this starts as a Sinclair mystery, when Madden and his wife return from vacation and find Sinclair gone, Madden steps into action and the two detect along parallel tracks, although they are separated. Some plot points are telegraphed—Sinclair relies on blood pressure medication, so naturally that will disappear, and in a locked room mystery, there’s a process of elimination where only the good guys and the sociopath remain. Still, Airth has some surprises up his sleeve, and I hope this isn’t the 85-year-old author’s last mystery. Ellen Keith

THE GOOD WIFE

THE TRAITOR

From the outset, I must admit that I haven’t read the author’s four previous installments in the Henry Johnstone series. However, within a short amount of time, I got the gist, understood the relationship between the chief inspector and his sidekick detective, Mickey Hitchens, and enjoyed their interplay. In a rural English village in 1929, a young

Beginning with Kristallnacht in 1938 and taking the reader through to the destruction of the Third Reich in 1945, The Traitor is a view of the White Rose League’s resistance to Nazi tyranny through the eyes of Natalya, a fictional member of the group. The White Rose, composed of anti-Nazi Munich students, resisted non-violently; they printed and

Jane Adams, Severn House, 2020, $28.99/£20.99, hb, 224pp, 9780727889621

REVIEWS | Issue 92, May 2020

V.S. Alexander, Kensington, 2020, $15.95/ C$21.95, pb, 337pp, 9781496720399

distributed anti-Nazi leaflets. In Hitler’s Reich, that was treason, and the penalty was death. Natalya first seriously questions her politics the morning after Kristallnacht as she surveys the devastation of the Munich Jewish community. But what can a sixteen-yearold do? A few years later, as a nurse on the Russian Front, Natalya accidentally witnesses the S.S. machine-gunning down a group of Russians, including small children—an act that completes the growth of her hatred for the Nazis. Once back in Munich, in the university, she meets and gravitates toward the group of friends surrounding Hans and Sophie Scholl: the White Rose. Refusing to stand by passively, the White Rose members risk their lives to write, print, and distribute their leaflets, even as they know they can’t escape the Gestapo—and execution—forever. I already knew about the White Rose League, and while I couldn’t resist the topic, I did wonder whether the novel would do them justice. I needn’t have worried. This is a gripping novel and makes a fine addition to any library of World War II fiction. Making the viewpoint character fictional, rather than historical, was an excellent choice, and the author handles characterizations well. Natalya’s growth as a human being seems reasonable and reasoned; the writing flows smoothly and carries the reader along with it, and the tension’s often almost palpable. India Edghill

A PERFECT EXPLANATION

Eleanor Anstruther, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020, $24.00, hb, 320pp, 9780358120858 / Salt, 2019, £12.99, pb, 320pp, 9781784631642

Anstruther’s debut centers on a shocking truth from her family history. Her paternal grandmother Enid Campbell, descendant of the Earls of Argyll, sold her younger son Ian to her sister for £500, following Enid’s divorce and bitter custody battle. Having received her father’s permission to tell his story, and infusing it with details from public court records and private sources, the author brings us into her characters’ thoughts with unvarnished candor and lays bare their flaws alongside the burdens and cruelties of aristocratic life. The novel volleys between the 1920s and 1964, with Enid in a Hampstead nursing home before a prospective family reunion with her daughter and Ian, who she hasn’t seen since she gave him up 25 years earlier. Here she ponders a “perfect explanation” for her life choices, some of which were outside her control. Emotionally cold, Enid is impossible to like, which makes being within her head uncomfortable. However, as we learn about the context behind her terrible decisions, we come to deeply empathize. After her older brother’s death at Gallipoli, and her sister Joan a confirmed “spinster” (who lived with her lesbian partner), Enid’s mother pushes her to provide an heir. Married to Douglas Anstruther, a man she comes to detest, Enid produces a boy and a girl, but her son Fagus’s

physical challenges make him a deficient option, and she feels pressured to try again. Enraptured by religion, particularly Christian Science, Enid never wanted to marry or be a mother; the inside perspective of her descent into postpartum depression, which spurs her to abandon her family, feels wrenching. We also experience the views of Finetta, Enid’s daughter, yet another victim of a broken system that neglects its female children’s mental health and values money above all. This eye-opening novel is moving and psychologically shrewd throughout. Sarah Johnson

THE VARIETY GIRLS

Tracy Baines, Ebury, 2020, £6.99, pb, 480pp, 9781529103809

Holt, Norfolk, England in May 1939. Jessie Delaney has it all: youth, looks, talent, handsome boyfriend Harry; all that is but a way out of the drab world she inhabits with Mum and younger brother Eddie. After the untimely death of her father, a respected classical-cum-variety musician, they’ve been taken in by mean frosty Aunt Iris and reticent Uncle Norman. However, Jessie has an engulfing passion to tread the boards herself, which prompts her to write to her Dad’s old friend and agent for help getting a foot in the stage-door. He duly obliges her with a summer season’s hoofing as one of the Variety Girls at Cleethorpes Empire; thus begins her ascent toward the oh-so-craved top billing. On that climb she encounters hiccup after hindrance as she juggles malice, worries, illness and love in a real-life offstage performance featuring as much tact and talent as she can muster. Luckily, everyone Jessie encounters is super-friendly and kind, although a deceitful colleague exposes her naivety and tests her loyalty. She gets a lucky break thanks to another’s unlucky one which makes room on the bill for her to sing as well as dance; thenceforth all are smitten. An anonymous cast of public extras (passers-by, cyclists, pedestrians) adds realism to the outdoor scenes, and the overall atmosphere of pre-WW2 England, not to mention that of theatre life itself, is accurately summoned. If ever there was a story exemplifying Mark Twain’s advice to “write what you know,” this is it. The author’s extensive theatrical experience and knowledge lay solid foundations for an exciting backstage drama with a fast-flowing script. Will Jessie’s aspirations and determination eventually see her name in lights? Take your seats. Cue houselights down, cue curtain up! Simon Rickman

I’M STAYING HERE

Marco Balzano (trans. Jill Foulston), Head of Zeus, 2020, £18.99, hb, 216pp, 9781789545081

Translations often give us insights into times and places we seldom encounter in our native literature. I’m Staying Here (Resto Qui) is translated from the Italian and set in the Alto Adige, on the Alpine borderland between

Italy and Austria, following the life of a local woman, Trina, from the 1920s to the 1950s. In the beginning it is the native German speakers who are oppressed by the Italian Fascists, breaking up illegal German classes such as Trina teaches, and deporting one of her friends. Nazi Germany becomes their liberator, only to hunt them in the mountains to press them into military service in a lost war, and finally the post-war Italian state literally wipes Trina’s village off the map to make way for a hydro-electric scheme. The story is told in short chapters in Trina’s simple unadorned prose. Even though we know that the village is doomed, the story keeps its tension to the end, and we share in the villagers’ loss. This is very much a book about a place, and if you have never visited the Alto-Adige you will want to after reading this. Edward James

THE VANISHING SKY

L. Annette Binder, Bloomsbury, 2020, $27.00/ C$36.50/£21.99, hb, 288pp, 9781635574678

In 1945, Germany has almost fallen, yet the government promises victory, demanding further sacrifices. Etta Huber thanks God that her elder son, Max, is coming home, released from service on the Eastern Front. When he arrives, his strange, dissociated behavior troubles her, but since he’s thin, with no sign of physical injury, she insists that if she feeds him, he’ll get better. The Vanishing Sky reveals the German home front as I’ve never seen it in fiction, a small town where nobody asks questions or unburdens herself, so that neighbors who’ve known one another all their lives are strangers. War spirit still holds sway, as with Etta’s tyrannical husband, Josef, who believes in final victory and would inform on anyone who doesn’t. Meanwhile, their younger son, fifteenyear-old Georg, has never reached puberty, remaining pudgy and physically inept, despite rigorous training with the Hitler Youth. He knows he wouldn’t last five minutes in battle, where most of his comrades have gone, which is why he dreams of escape. Etta prays for his safety, unaware that he too needs special care he’s unlikely to get. She’s devoted her life to the ideal expressed in the famous phrase Kinder, Küche, Kirche, “children, kitchen, church,” women’s place in Reich society. Nobody could have performed that role more faithfully, but it can’t restore Max, and Georg is in the hands of maniacs. At times, her efforts to “cure” Max send the narrative into a holding pattern, because you know she won’t hear that he’s mentally disturbed. Still, you have to admire her determination; she’s a true tragic figure. Binding tells her story patiently, like an artist placing tiny pieces into a mosaic; this literary novel isn’t one to race through. But I find it gripping, powerful, and a brave narrative, unsparing in its honesty. Larry Zuckerman

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THE SCHRÖDINGER GIRL

Laurel Brett, Kaylie Jones Books, 2020, $39.95/ C$59.95, hb, 278pp, 9781617758904 / $16.95/ C$25.50/£11.99, pb, 336pp, 9781617757297

Garrett Adams, an unhappy professor of behavioral psychology (think Skinner’s rats), is struggling to ignore the 1960s. In an overflowing New York bookstore, he hides out in the physics section, a hobby of his, and reads about Schrödinger and his cat. On a whim, he decides if anyone else picks up the book, he’ll invite the man to lunch. The first person who is drawn to it turns out to be a teenager named Daphne. After their first lunch, they continue to see each other, though Daphne separates into four different selves. Each one takes Garrett on a trip into a different version of 1960s reality. Together, they invite him to question the laws of physics. Inserting quantum theory into a novel is a brave endeavor, one which Brett has engaged in with considerable success. In addition, her portrayal of the avenues down which a 1960s teenager might travel took me down memory lane. The unforgettable music, drugs, art, and politics all pull one or more of the Daphnes into trouble that forces Garrett out of his shell. His commitment to and perhaps even “obsession” with the girls creates rifts in his relationships with his best friend and his girlfriend. It also creates a more likable man. Lorelei Brush

THE PRISONER’S WIFE Maggie Brookes, Berkley, 2020, C$23.00, pb, 400pp, 9780593197752

$17.00/

It’s 1944 in occupied Czechoslovakia, and Izabela, a teenage girl, falls in love with Bill King, a British prisoner of war, who has come to her family farm to help. They elope and decide to run away, mainly to escape the advance of the Russians and possibly to connect with her father and brother, who are fighting with the resistance. Izabela dresses as a boy to disguise herself from the enemies, but they are captured and transported to a Nazi POW camp. To protect her identity, Izabela pretends to be the mute Algernon Cousins, and to survive the camp, Bill confides her secret to a select group of British POWs. The Prisoner’s Wife was inspired by true events, but the novel reads like a news report rather than a novel for three out of its four parts. Izabela is an idealistic teenager at the beginning and doesn’t change or develop. I couldn’t connect to her and therefore couldn’t feel her plight. She shows some strength of character in Part Four, The Long March West, which is the most interesting and gritty part of the novel, but reverts to her idealistic self at the end. The other characters are indistinguishable from each other, and I often didn’t know if I was in Bill’s point of view or Izabela’s. Both are written the same. Also, Izabela speaks in broken English in dialogue but in the narratives, she has perfect English. I wanted to enjoy the The Prisoner’s Wife, 36

to feel the plight of the characters and be swept into the storyline, but they were onedimensional. For me, its only saving grace was the final part, which shows the ordeal of the prisoners and the humanity of the village people they pass, and which evokes emotion and empathy. Franca Pelaccia

TANGLED TIMES

Irene Bennett Brown, Five Star, 2020, $25.95, hb, 232pp, 9781432867294

1902, Kansas. The second book in the Nickel Hill series follows the experiences of Jocelyn Royal, the heroine of Miss Royal’s Mules. Now married, she and her husband Pete Pladson are managing a ranch, but their hopes of making it a success and raising a family are imperiled by an outbreak of cattle rustling and her failure to get pregnant. Will hard work, dogged determination, kindness, and the support of friends and neighbors be sufficient to win the day? This offers a picture of the harsh challenges that confronted settlers in the West, including prejudice and suspicion, the mistreatment of children, and unexpected misfortune, and it helps to balance the generally idealized presentation of the characters. True to the romance form, their choice to treat others with kindness and sympathy, rather than harbor resentment or lash out in anger, leads to a happy outcome to their difficulties: common sense prevails and differences are reconciled; abandoned children are cared for and react with gratitude; and the community rallies to protect its own. The welcome focus upon domestic matters rather than violent action serves to reveal the crucial role that women played in civilizing the West, and this is reinforced by references to the progress they fought for at the turn of the century: education, cultural events, and equal rights for women. This will appeal to readers who enjoyed Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie series. Recommended. Ray Thompson

SALT THE SNOW

Carrie Callaghan, Amberjack, 2020, $24.99/ C$20.99, hb, 304pp, 9781948705646

Milly Bennett has left America behind for an exciting news correspondent’s job in 1930s Russia, reporting on how Socialism is affecting the Soviet people. An experienced journalist, Milly is still taken aback by how difficult life is for the everyday person in Moscow, where she is based. Her daily job consists of working at the Moscow Daily News, along with a handful of other international journalists. But at night, she mingles with locals, drinking vodka in Russian nightclubs. Her life takes a dramatic change when she falls in love with Zhenya, a tender actor, and they marry. Not long afterward, Zhenya is arrested by the police for the crime of being

REVIEWS | Issue 92, May 2020

a homosexual and is sent to a labor camp in Siberia. The remainder of the novel is based upon Milly’s brave and exhausting efforts to have him exonerated and set free. Along the way she comes to acknowledge her true calling in life, and the difficult truth about love. My takeaways from the novel were the vivid descriptions of Moscow in the 1930s, the extreme brutality of Russian winters, and the precarious lives of the Russian citizens always under the watchful eyes of the police. The plot switches back and forth in time from before Zhenya’s arrest and afterward, and on more than one occasion, I had to consult the chapter heading to remember which year I was currently reading. Overall, it is an enjoyable story. Recommended. Linda Harris Sittig

THE LIBRARY OF LEGENDS

Janie Chang, William Morrow, 2020, $16.99, pb, 400pp, 9780062851505

In 1937, Japan attacked Nanking and other regions on China’s east coast. The Chinese government ordered students and faculty at some universities to abandon their campuses and trek a thousand miles west and out of Japan’s reach. This fictionalized account of that saga follows nineteen-year-old Hu Lian and her schoolmates. Lian’s university library holds a priceless collection of folklore, called the Library of Legends, which students and faculty must also carry to safety. After one terrible Japanese air raid, the journey begins. Travelling mostly at night and hiding in ditches, caves, old structures and forests in daylight, the caravan makes steady progress. Japan’s war machine is not the only menace. Chinese communists seek to undermine everything. Spies for Japan, the communists, and the brutal secret police lurk everywhere. An unsolved murder of one student communist organizer, and the arrests of another student and a faculty staff member spook Lian. She and her two companions flee their caravan. Layered into this real-life story are celestial beings. The senior faculty member communicates with and is guided by them. Lian’s two main companions are celestial characters come to earth. Chang vividly portrays the deprivations and daily tragedies—soldiers with old rifles and no ammunition, babies dying or abandoned, untreated illnesses. The gulf between peasants and wealthy families is dramatic. Rail-thin poor people are infested by lice and live in filth, while the wealthy have multiple homes and modern luxuries, even in wartime. Occasional lapses into English jargon (“quite the coup”; “Flush… after cashing money”), incorrect use of the “mile” as a distance measure, too many story lines, and repetitive details will disappoint some readers. But overall, this is an interesting and honest account of a little-known part of history. G. J. Berger

THE PARIS LIBRARY

Janet Skeslien Charles, Atria, 2020, $28.00, hb, 368pp, 9781982134198

Charles frames her dual narrative with the voices of Odile, a young woman working at the American Library in Paris (ALP) from the pre-war period in 1939 to liberation in 1944, and a young, lonely teenager, Lily, in small-town Montana from 1983 to 1988. With the arrival of the Nazis, libraries are targeted for banned books and given lists to cull the stacks. Jews are forbidden entry, and some libraries are closed down, but the Directress is determined to keep the ALP open and continues to arrange delivery to subscribers and soldiers. This is a risky task Odile and her co-workers willingly undertake. During the coming years, tragic events impact Odile’s life: the imprisonment of her twin brother, the internment of a beloved mentor, tragedy and betrayal surrounding her best friend, and the Occupation itself. She carries these memories to Montana, leaving behind family and friends and her younger self. In 1983, upon the pretense of writing a school report about France, Lily knocks on her reclusive neighbour’s door. She is curious about Odile’s life and why she left France, but Odile rarely speaks of her past. However, over the course of the next few years, she imparts valuable life lessons to Lily, drawn from her own experiences and the choices she made. Charles worked as programme manager for the ALP in 2010, where she learned of the remarkable selflessness and bravery of the librarians during the Occupation. She has woven a fascinating tale, based on true events and historical characters, most notably Directress Dorothy Reeder. The prose contains many memorable quotes about books and libraries. An extraordinary story of friendship, love, sacrifice, betrayal and forgiveness, the novel makes one realise things are often not what they seem. This could be just one more in the recent influx of novels about Paris, but it is so very much more! A true gem for all historical fiction readers. Fiona Alison

WHAT WE DID IN THE DARK

Ajay Close, Sandstone, 2020, £8.99, pb, 318pp, 9781912240890

Catherine MacFarlane Carswell (1879-1946) was a novelist, biographer of Robert Burns, and journalist who, though she excelled in her studies at Glasgow University, could not, as a woman,

be awarded a degree. In her sixth novel, Close tells the story of Carswell’s first marriage, to a Boer War veteran and artist, Herbert Jackson, stealthily detailing his mental unravelling and her subsequent struggle to annul their union. Exquisitely written, the novel succeeds in being both a love story and a thriller, with language and imagery that takes the reader right into the moment: a secretary cleaning her typewriter keys with methylated spirits, a thatched roof looking like “an ill-fitting wig”. The story is told predominantly from Cathie’s point of view (yet she does not spare herself), but is also interspersed with flashbacks, through Jackson’s war letters. Here the atrocities committed by the British against Boer women and children are told in unflinching detail in a crescendo of horror; this reader’s heart started beating faster each time a new one appeared. Cathie marries Herbert in haste, amidst the deafening silence of those who already knew of his mental dissolution, but for whom it was convenient to say nothing. Through a protracted Italian honeymoon, Jackson’s always articulate paranoia increases to the point that Cathie’s life is in danger. However, if she is to be free, even at the cost of illegitimising their daughter, Cathie must prove that her husband was mentally incapable at the time of their marriage. Yet Close’s skill is such that the reader empathises also with Herbert in his derangement. This is an enthralling read. Put everything else aside. Katherine Mezzacappa

AFRICAVILLE

Jeffrey Colvin, Amistad, 2019, $26.99, hb, 384pp, 9780062913722

Colvin’s debut novel, a literary saga spanning over seventy years, is as much about the legacy of a place as the place itself. The story follows the lives of three generations of Black Canadians. Kath Ella Sebolt, a young woman during the Depression, leaves her home behind for a career in Montreal; her son, Omar/Etienne, distances himself further from his origins, passing as a white man in the Deep South; and his son, Warner, makes astonishing discoveries about his ancestry and reaches out to reconnect with it. In addition to their familial ties, linking them together is a shared heritage in – and estrangement from – Woods Bluff, a Black neighborhood of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Little by little, Colvin intertwines his characters’ experiences with details of his setting’s unique history (which is based on the real-life village of Africville), beginning

with its original settlement by formerly enslaved Jamaicans and Americans in the late 18th century. The novel delves into the close-knit society of Woods Bluff’s many residents, focusing on their day-to-day concerns, including moments of rebellion and friendship, deeply felt tragedies, and their relationships with their skin color. They are all affected, in one or more ways, by prejudice and unequal treatment from the government. Despite this neglect and some internal strife, the neighborhood thrives as a close-knit community for over a century. At first, the unadorned sentences left me observing the people from a close distance rather than drawn into their lives and emotions, but partway through, this opaqueness began to break down, and the storytelling flowed more easily. Colvin refuses to pass judgment on the characters’ decisions and simply presents them as they are, with their own personalities, flaws, and strengths. It’s a worthy story of perseverance that succeeds in illuminating a little-known slice of North American history. Sarah Johnson

A CHILD LOST

Michelle Cox, She Writes, 2020, $16.95, pb, 393pp, 9781631528361

This fifth in the award-winning Henrietta and Inspector Clive Howard series, set in Depression-era Chicago, finds Henrietta in mourning after a miscarriage but determined to shed her grief and self-pity. Eager to distract his detective partner/wife, Clive takes the case of a spiritualist who may be stealing valuables from gullible clients. Meanwhile Henrietta’s sister, Elsie, asks her to find the mother of a young orphan girl, who is in the care of Elsie’s German immigrant friend, Gunther. Clues to the mother’s whereabouts lead Henrietta and Clive to Dunning, a hospital for the insane, where they are told she is dead. A Child Lost doesn’t stand alone very well, so the story is not a smooth arc from outset to finale in the way of most mysteries. Cox’s literary device of rolling part of the story into the next book makes it feel more like a long-running family saga. Case in point: the spiritualist subplot peters out, to be revisited next time, according to the epilogue. Characters that are fixtures from earlier books and separate stories overwhelmed me, but I couldn’t place them easily in this plotline. Even had that not been the case, the narrative is slow in places; the pace doesn’t pick up until the visit to Dunning. In her author’s notes, Cox discusses her dilemma of how much of her research into insane asylum abuse to include – a fine line – but there isn’t as great a sense of shock in those scenes as there could be. That said, the time and place are well drawn, and Henrietta and Clive are a highly engaging couple. Fans of the series will be eager to discover how Elsie, Gunther, Rose and Stanley follow their destinies. Recommended, but start with A Girl Like You. Fiona Alison

A publication of the Historical Novel Society | www.historicalnovelsociety.org

THE SIX-WEEK SOLUTION

Paula Darnell, Campbell and Rogers Press, 2020, $15.95, pb, 301pp, 9781887402019

The Six-Week Solution is set in 1950s Nevada, where out-of-towners from Hollywood stars to politicians’ wives flock to establish six-week residencies near Reno in order to take advantage of the state’s liberal divorce laws. The Circle E Ranch is one of a number of guest ranches whose owners provide accommodation to would-be divorcées and attest to the necessary residence at the subsequent divorce hearing. When one guest of the Circle E suffers a fatal car accident, and newly arrived Mary Garrison narrowly escapes with her life in later attacks, Washoe County Deputy Sheriff Ben Cameron, newly promoted to detective, strives to protect Mary while searching for the person behind the assaults. The action takes us from Nevada to California and back, with unexpected twists and turns that keep the reader guessing until the end. The story alternates between Ben’s and Mary’s points of view and this, together with an overuse of protagonists’ first names, hinders total immersion in the plot. Darnell ably conveys the strain of the enforced sixweek stay with a group of strangers who all have their own baggage and have nothing in common other than their wish for a quickie divorce. An interesting reminder of an almost forgotten piece of Americana. Catherine Kullmann

THE ROAD TO DELANO

John DeSimone, Rare Bird, 2020, $26.00/ C$38.95, hb, 320pp, 9781644280317

In the late 1960s, a young man fights to save his family’s legacy amidst an unsettling time for migrant workers. Jack Duncan is a high school senior with dreams of playing college baseball. He lives in northern California with his widowed mother, Shirley. His father, Sugar Duncan, a professional gambler and grape farmer, died ten years earlier in an accident. Soon afterward, his mother lost most of their land and grape vineyards to their neighbor, and they struggled financially for years. Recently it has become clear to Jack that his mother, and others, have information about the true circumstances surrounding Sugar’s death. Jack’s best friend’s father is a grape picker and was recently let go. Adrian and his father try to stay under the radar as they work with Cesar Chavez, a key figure in the book and real-life founder of the National Farmworkers Union, to demand better working conditions for the laborers, many of whom were immigrants. Chavez had initiated the Delano Grape Strike, and anyone who associated with him did so at great personal risk. Things become deadly when someone steals Jack’s father’s old combine, the last hope for them to raise cash so Jack’s mother can open a shop. As he gradually learns the truth, Jack 38

takes matters into his own hands, including mastering his father’s card-playing acumen. The book is part mystery, part coming-ofage story, and an exploration of the plight of migrant workers during the unrest of the 1960s. Blending historical figures with fictional characters and storyline, the book tackles matters that are still timely today. Parts of the narrative drag a bit, such as the detailed descriptions of Jack’s baseball games and his card games, but essentially, it is a satisfactory read. Hilary Daninhirsch

BEYOND BLACK THERE IS NO COLOUR

Maryam Diener, Quartet Books, 2020, £15.00, hb, 160pp, 9780704374751

In the last century, three major women poets died in their prime. Two, Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, took their own lives. Forough Farrokhzad died in a car accident after numerous suicide attempts. All three were beautiful and held in high regard by their peers. All three had passionate relationships with eminent men who loved and admired them, and this included the husbands of their children. But all three suffered from levels of depression which, from childhood and despite dizzying heights of elation, laid them low enough to overpower them. Arguably, Forough Farrokhzad, born and raised in Tehran and consequently subject to the rigid dictates of Iranian law and religious restrictions, which inflamed her feelings of repression and lack of freedom to express herself as she wished, had more intolerance and disapproval to contend with than did either Sexton or Plath, each in her own Western environment. Maryam Diener aptly describes her book as “a work of imaginative fiction” in which she has successfully contrived to give us her subject with precisely the right amount of sensitivity and compassion without, for one moment, descending into sentimentality. Her feeling for both time and place is relaxed and evocative, while her crystalline prose is a pleasure to read, as she moves her subject through the trajectory of her life with a rare assurance and skill. This book will encourage readers who may be unfamiliar with Forough Farokhzad’s work to discover her for themselves and be the richer for it. This is one to relish and cherish. Julia Stoneham

THE ORPHAN’S GIFT

Renita D’Silva, Bookouture, 2020, $3.99, ebook, 486pp, B084VNRZYQ

Spanning over 70 years, Renita D’Silva’s newest novel is a touching generational saga about women searching for belonging, falling in love, enduring loss, and learning from past mistakes. Daughter of the deputy commissioner for her region, Alice Harris lives in an elegant compound in the small city of Jamjadpur in early 20th-century India, knowing every material comfort but lacking parental affection. She grows up cocooned

REVIEWS | Issue 92, May 2020

in the constant love of her nanny, a local woman she calls Ayah, and Ayah’s son, Raju, who is her playmate and best friend. In the 1940s, Janaki is raised by Carmelite nuns in a poor orphanage in the city center. While she dreams of being adopted by kind parents, that chance seems progressively more unlikely over time. Sister Shanthi often tells Janaki the story of how the nuns first found her, a blue-eyed newborn wrapped in a cardigan and left at the gate of St. Ursula’s during the Hindu-Muslim riots of 1936. The viewpoint alternates between Alice and Janaki, whose connection should be obvious, and the author doesn’t pretend otherwise. Rather, the story follows both girls’ separate journeys and keeps us wondering whether they’ll ever meet. Some characterizations aren’t subtle: Alice’s cold-hearted father offers statements about India like “They want independence, self-rule, but without us they would not manage at all.” Her mother is a wilting English flower who revives only to party in the cool evenings. More layered is the portrait of blind privilege that D’Silva creates for Alice. As adolescents, she and Raju act on their mutual attraction, sharing a brief kiss, and the repercussions are more dire for him and his family. With its fast-moving plot and evocation of the sights, scents, and flavors of India, the novel should please fans of commercial women’s fiction and atmospheric settings. Sarah Johnson

THE AMERICAN FIANCÉE

Eric DuPont, HarperVia, 2020, $27.99, hb, 672pp, 9780063003743

This rollicking Canadian novel, composed in lavish storytelling style, sweeps back and forth through the 20th century, spanning the Lamontagne family history, along with plenty of digressions about the gentry who featured in their lives. Beginning in the 1950s, Louis Lamontagne regales his children with flashbacks about their ancestors in the Quebecois town of Rivière du Loup. Louis beguiles his daughter Madeleine with the first tale set in 1918: the arrival of the American fiancée, who possesses teal eyes and marries Louis’ father. She dies giving birth to Louis, dubbed The Horse, who is raised by his grandmother, then goes off to fight in World War II, after which he returns home to run a funeral parlor in Rivière du Loup. Madeleine grows up and fulfills her dream of serving up her grandmother’s favorite dishes in successful restaurants. The exploits of her estranged

sons Gabriel and Michel—who eventually reconnect through family letters and shared family lore—lead to Gabriel’s life in Berlin where in 2000 he discovers a missing link in the Lamontagne chain. The author sweeps the reader up and into the tale, employing deft detail and brilliant shifts in focus from the small vignette to the large panorama of events which leave the reader breathless. At times hilarious, at other times tragic, the novel succeeds in drawing us into the seemingly Shakespearean world of ugly nuns, impure priests, heroic weightlifters, disobedient schoolgirls, and of course Louis The Horse Lamontagne of whom it was said, “A mere glance from Louis was enough to awaken the best and the worst of the man—or especially the woman—his eyes happened to fall on.” A masterful novel, not to be missed. Gini Grossenbacher

MORTMAIN HALL

Martin Edwards, Head of Zeus, 2020, £18.99, hb, 387pp, 9781788546126

Martin Edwards describes his book as a homage to the Golden Age of English detective fiction, which flourished in the interwar years and is best remembered in the works of Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. The book is accordingly a pastiche: a country house murder/mystery set in Yorkshire (with some preliminaries in Soho) in 1930, written in the style of the Golden Age and using all the tropes, stock characters and conventions of the genre. Indeed it is so over-the-top that I am not certain if this is meant to be a parody. Not that it is easy to parody a Golden Age murder/mystery. They were never meant to be realistic. The world they created is as much a fantasy as Tolkien. They are puzzle pastimes, a product of the same age which invented crosswords. Edwards even provides a ‘cluefinder’ at the end of his book, in case you missed any of the clues hidden in the text. Mortmain Hall is a remote Victorian gothic country house to which the mistress of the house (the owner being an invalid from the Great War) invites a mixed group of well-to-do people for the weekend, each of whom has a motive for murder. In the event there are two murders, not to mention an earthquake, and the astute lady detective who is among the guests unravels the mystery and convenes the survivors in the Library to unmask the killer. Needless to say it is not one of the chief suspects. A pleasant piece of entertainment on the sillier side of the Golden Age Edward James

THE QUEEN OF PARIS

Pamela Binnings Ewen, Blackstone, 2020, $27.99, hb, 416pp, 9781982546847

Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel will always be known as an iconic symbol of couture and high-end perfume. In The Queen of Paris, the reader learns more about this complex, enigmatic woman who was light years ahead of her time. The book opens to Chanel’s

earliest days when her father left her and her siblings at an orphanage following the death of her mother; that abandonment affected the rest of her life and all future relationships. The novel then travels back and forth in time, beginning in 1905, when she was living at a chateau in the south of France, owned by her lover Etienne Balsan while having an affair with the only man she truly ever loved, Arthur Edward “Boy” Capel. Despite being loved by two men who were a part of the French elite, she was never quite accepted into their world, something that she never shook off as she became more successful. The reader also meets Chanel in 1940, when the world was on the cusp of the Second World War. During this latter time, France falls under German rule, and she learns that her business partner, Pierre Wertheimer, escaped to America with the secret formula of Chanel No. 5 and all of the production rights, as well as the jasmine contracts. In order to protect those whom she loves, as well as the company she built from the ground up, Chanel is faced with the decision to become a spy for the Nazis or risk losing everything. The book is exceedingly well researched, bringing German-occupied Paris to life. Despite Chanel’s alliances with Nazis during World War II, the reader is left with a deeper understanding of her motivations, her power, and her allure. Hilary Daninhirsch

PALE

Edward A. Farmer, Blackstone, 2020, $26.99, hb, 240pp, 9781982673864

It’s 1966 and Bernice, adrift since her husband disappeared six months ago, joins her brother Floyd in Mississippi to work on a cotton plantation. Although she works the fields during the day, she works in the house at night, where she is drawn unwillingly into the problems of the unhappy white couple who owns the plantation. When two teenaged boys who grew up on the plantation return to help with the harvest, long-buried secrets rise to the surface. The Missus begins a dangerous game, one that threatens everyone living on Kern Plantation, from her resentful husband to the boys—bold Jesse and bookish Fletcher— to their mother Silva, who has worked on the plantation since before her boys were born. Bernice hears and sees more than the Missus knows, but is it enough to thwart the Missus’s plans? As those on the plantation make increasingly desperate decisions, Bernice balances their secrets, their lies, and their desires. Pale is a leisurely novel, though not without tension. The inhabitants of Kern Plantation are imperfect. They grapple with long-held jealousies, resentments, and longings. Farmer builds tension by contrasting emotion with environment, by letting characters fail and grieve, by making them human. He excels at atmosphere, using the oppressive heat of the summer, the heaviness of the night sky, the sound of the wind through the cotton,

and the isolation of the plantation to deepen the feeling of melancholy. Bernice winds her way through the story almost as a flaneur, observing events that she cannot—or will not—change. Recommended for readers who like quiet, character-driven novels. Jessica Brockmole

DAUGHTER OF THE REICH (US) / PEOPLE LIKE US (UK)

Louise Fein, William Morrow, 2020, $16.99, pb, 560pp, 9780062964052 / Head of Zeus, 2020, £18.99, hb, 496pp, 9781789545005

This story of star-crossed lovers in Leipzig, Germany during 1929-1939 begins with Hetty Heinrich as a child being rescued from drowning by her brother’s friend, Walter. But Walter is a Jew, and the family is on its way up, thanks to Nazi newspaper connections in Hitler’s Germany. By the time they are teenagers, the families are separated, and Walter is learning that the window of escape for Jews is closing. Hetty, at first, is devoted to Hitler’s notion of German youth and hears his portrait speak to her with guidance. She even participates in informing on her friend Tomas’s more free-thinking father. But as she gets older, her own wish to become a doctor, her lively mind, sexual awakening, and sense of justice all conspire to get her into trouble. Then she meets Walter again, and they embark on a secret love affair. After Kristallnacht in 1938, his desperate family leans on Hetty’s help, though it means her life will forever change when she dares to defy her powerful father. Revelatory and harrowing with touches of grace, Daughter of the Reich, after a slowpaced start, soon picks up and becomes a compelling experience. The characterizations are well done, with the lovers and Hetty’s relationship with her beloved brother particularly well rendered. An extraordinary debut novel. Bravo! Eileen Charbonneau

PARIS NEVER LEAVES YOU

Ellen Feldman, St. Martin’s, 2020, $18.00/ C$24.50, pb, 368pp, 9781250622778

Ten years after Paris was liberated, Charlotte Foret lives in New York with her daughter, Vivi, now fourteen, and works at a prestigious publishing house. Her boss, Horace Field, is also her landlord, for the Forets live in his East Side brownstone. But as the novel opens, Charlotte’s tightly knit life threatens to unravel, mostly because Vivi asks about her Jewish heritage and her father, killed in the war. However, Charlotte has always said that it took Hitler to make her a Jew, and she forbids such explorations, a stance that tells you (if melodramatic clues don’t) that she’s hiding a shameful secret. But Horace wants, nay, demands that Charlotte reflect on who she is and what she believes. Theirs is a memorable, thought-provoking moral conflict, and their

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dialogue crackles like a duel, my favorite part of the narrative. Feldman brings wartime Paris alive, but parts of Paris Never Leaves You feel hard to swallow. I don’t believe the historical basis for Charlotte’s secret, despite what Feldman writes in her afterword. I also think that the story would elicit more tension, feel less contrived, and present Charlotte more sympathetically if the reader knew her secret. Watching her shut down for no clear reason is merely puzzling or annoying; knowing why would let you struggle alongside her. The minor characters are contrived too. Vivi’s an ideal child, too sweet and calm for fourteen, and she bears nary a psychological scratch from her early years in wartime Paris. Horace’s wife, a psychoanalyst, is a cliché, a dogmatic busybody who sleeps with her analysands. If you can get past the wobbly what-ifs and concentrate on Charlotte and Horace, Paris Never Leaves You succeeds as a meaty moral tale. But as historical fiction, it’s thinner. Larry Zuckerman

THE PEARL OF PENANG

Clare Flynn, Cranbrook, 2019, $13.99, pb, 364pp, 9781916469211

London, 1939. Twenty-seven-year-old spinster Evelyn is unhappy working as a livein paid companion to an elderly lady. Evelyn is considering other opportunities when a letter unexpectedly arrives from Malaya from her mother’s cousin Douglas, a widower twelve years her senior. While the letter offers condolences on Evelyn’s father’s death, it’s a thinly disguised marriage proposal, offering Evelyn a new life on his rubber plantation. Having dismal prospects in England—her mother lives in America—Evelyn accepts. However, Evelyn and Douglas’s married life in the Pearl of the Orient is not all that she’d imagined. Although Evelyn lives in a mansion with servants and a chauffeur-driven car, it’s a lonely existence in the city. Douglas is often away at his plantations. While Evelyn is snubbed by some of the Penang Club’s expat upper-class ladies, Douglas’s best friend, Arthur, desires her. Furthermore, the moody and abrasive Douglas harbors secrets. These shocking disclosures put Evelyn and Douglas on a collision course, and then the Japanese invade Malaya. In this tenth novel, Flynn continues admirably to bring to life the lives of British expatriates in the Colonies, this time in Malaya just before and during WWII. The detailed descriptions of Penang and the rubber plantations seem to be based on her extensive research and world travels. While it’s known that living in those far-off lands was problematic, the plight and anxieties of a young bride transported into a lush tropical island, amongst the mayhem of the crowded towns and attitudes of some indifferent fellow British women, are portrayed compellingly. While Douglas’s uncaring mindset and secretiveness may not be a surprise, it adds intrigue to the plot. The 40

inclusion of local characters and religious beliefs broadens the appeal of the story. Readers will look forward to the sequel. Highly recommended. Waheed Rabbani

LIVERPOOL DAUGHTER

Katie Flynn, Arrow, 2020, £7.99, pb, 404pp, 9781787463028

This is a tale of love and acceptance in the face of war. Dana Quinn is a young girl who decides to remain behind in Liverpool as her Irish traveller family returns to Ireland to escape the bombing. She signs up as a WAAF and goes to a RAF station to drive pilots to their planes. She faces daily challenges – not just because of the fighting – but because of her identity that she tries to keep secret. Her resolve is tested again and again by the friendships she finds at the RAF station and also by the romantic advances that come her way. The author successfully tackles prejudice in this novel, doing this by including Dana’s unknown background as a traveller and weaves it into the well-known story of the WAAFS in WW2. She also gives all her characters diverse backgrounds and how willing they are to accept each other’s differences while fighting against an enemy that had taken advantage of prejudice itself. As well as this, the author makes this novel an enjoyable read through believable characters, romance, plot and one or two twists along the way. Not your usual war story, this tale is an example of what true friendship is. Clare Lehovsky

A SISTER’S COURAGE

Molly Green, HarperCollins, 2019, $16.99/£7.99, pb, 400pp, 9780008378424

Raine Linfoot longed to be a pilot throughout her teenage years, and before the outbreak of WW2 she had managed to earn her pilot’s license. One of three sisters living in southeastern England with their English father and French mother, she stubbornly faces her parents’ opposition to her plans to join the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA). This organization was formed to ferry WW2 airplanes from the factory to the airfield where they were needed by the RAF. Excited when she is accepted into the ATA, she enjoys flying the planes and meeting and working with young women with very different backgrounds to her own. She is inspired by the leadership of Miss Pauline Gower, who fights tenaciously to have her female pilots accepted in the same way as male pilots and who eventually achieves the unheard-of equal pay for them. Raine (her full name is Lorraine, but she never uses it) is only saddened when Doug White, the pilot who helped her get her first pilot’s licence, is reported missing, presumed dead, by the RAF. But she has met Alec, also a pilot, and slowly she falls in love with him. All goes well until Doug returns. He is in love with Raine and she is forced to choose between the two men. This novel is meticulously researched and

REVIEWS | Issue 92, May 2020

brings into focus the sterling work of the women of the ATA and especially of their leader, Pauline Gower. This information in no way intrudes into an engrossing story, with a strong, likeable female protagonist facing issues we still face today. Especially delightful are the tiny anecdotes that must have been drawn from the memories of actual ATA pilots and which dramatically illustrate the joys of flying from the perspective of a woman in an overpoweringly male world. Valerie Adolph

THE QUEEN’S SECRET

Karen Harper, William Morrow, 2020, $16.99, pb, 384pp, 9780062885487

King George VI has only been on the throne for two years when war breaks out in Europe. He is about to be tested like no king before ever has; fortunately, he has a steely ally to stand beside him, his wife, Elizabeth. Wanting to stay and do her part for the war effort, she refuses to leave London, even during the Blitz. Hitler calls her “the most dangerous woman in Europe” for her threatening level of popularity, and she earns the respect of Winston Churchill, who she and the king meet with for private weekly war meetings. All of the king and queen’s focus should be on stopping the Nazis, but another threat looms. The former king, Edward VIII, and his wife are finding their life out of the spotlight less than desirable and are making demands. Also hanging over the queen are a number of personal secrets she has managed to hide from the world, including her beloved husband, but which threaten to be exposed. Most readers will remember the Queen Mother with a sweet smile, waving to a crowd, looking like a beloved grandmother. It is refreshing to see her in a new light, as a younger, strong-willed partner to the king. She is warmly portrayed, and the tender scenes between her and her family are a pleasure to read. Less successful are the queen’s alleged secrets that are so sensational they seem unrealistic. The queen’s actions relating to her secrets are so unlike the character Harper has developed, creating situations where the queen has to lie repeatedly and comes off as bordering on conniving. This aside, this is an enjoyable novel that will appeal to those, like me, who can’t get enough about the Windsors. Janice Derr

SPITFIRE

M. L. Huie, Crooked Lane, 2020, $26.99/ C$35.99/£22.99, hb, 320pp, 9781643852454

World War II is over, but 1946 Britain is still on rationing, half of London is rubble, and former SOE member Livy Nash is an aimless alcoholic. Her psychological wounds from the war remain agonizingly fresh, and she’s one rent check away from homelessness when Ian Fleming (yes, that Ian Fleming) gambles on her former Resistance skills and recruits her. Livy learns that the Nazis had a massive network of agents in place during the war—and that the agents of that network are still in place.

Fleming is one of many who are already preparing for the next war; that list of agents will be vital. Livy takes on the task and heads to Paris, hoping to solve a mystery of her own: Who was the traitor who handed her SOE group over to the

Gestapo? Spitfire is a thriller that I read straight through in one day. Seeing historical figures like Vera Atkins and Ian Fleming was a delightful plus in a slam-bang series opener, and I’m looking forward to the next book. Even better, the ultimate unveiling of the traitor is a surprise, but not a shock, which means the clues were beautifully planted throughout the novel. The book could almost be described as halfway between LeCarre and Fleming while managing to stand squarely on its own merits. India Edghill

THE JANE AUSTEN SOCIETY

Natalie Jenner, St. Martin’s, 2020, $26.99/ C$36.50, hb, 320pp, 9781250248732

Chawton, Hampshire, England. As World War II wreaks havoc upon their lives, a group of villagers fights to preserve their beloved local author’s home, aspiring to create something beautiful and lasting in the face of the devastation they experience. United by their love for Jane Austen, a farmhand, a doctor, a teacher, a lawyer, a maid, and a descendant of the writer form a society dedicated to her memory, setting out to turn the cottage where she resided into a museum. At first, it appears that fate is not on their side. When the owner of Chawton House alters his will shortly before his death, he destroys not only his daughter’s belated chance at happiness but also the society’s grand dream. An American actress offers to help, but it soon looks likely that her greedy fiancé might spoil any attempt at salvaging the project. With the organisation desperate for funds, could its salvation lie in the hands of its youngest, humblest member, a naturalborn literary sleuth who might have discovered a bibliophile’s treasure plus solved the mystery behind Austen’s cherished novel Persuasion? As the Jane Austen Society struggles to realise its goals, its devotees find time to discuss the writer’s work and to fall in love and get married. Although Chawton and the surrounding countryside are faithfully portrayed, the afterword explains that the novel is a historical fantasy, rather than a retelling of the founding of the real Jane Austen Society. Even so, this modern fairy tale is utterly

delightful and bound to enchant legions of Jane Austen fans. Elisabeth Lenckos

IN OUR MIDST

Nancy Jensen, Dzanc, 2020, $26.95/C$41.95, hb, 360pp, 9781950539161

The internment of German immigrants in America during WWII is not a story often told. In 1941 we meet Otto, Nina, and their two sons Kurt and Gerhard preparing to celebrate St. Nikolas Day at their successful Aust Family Restaurant in Newman, Indiana. The celebration is interrupted by the announcement of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This sets into play events that devastate and tear apart the Aust family. Even though the Austs were respected in their community, attitudes shift toward them as America enters WWII. The FBI arrests and interrogates Nina. When she is released, she comes home to find the restaurant destroyed and her husband and her sons now arrested and interned as prisoners of war. Jensen tells the story from two perspectives—the Aust men living in harsh conditions in different camps, and Nina left to face the hatred and prejudice of her community while she struggles to locate them and secure their release. This is a close look at America’s German internment camps, including how the government justified them and the lengths gone to in keeping them secret. In many ways, the conditions in the camps and the treatment of the prisoners can be compared to a Nazi prison camp or a Stalin Gulag. This cruel treatment often tested the American loyalty of prisoners, causing many to join the militant Nazi factions developing within the camps. The Aust men tread a line between compliance with the camp rules and avoiding the bullying Nazi followers in order to survive. Eventually, a policy of uniting families allows Nina to voluntarily enter the camp to join her family. This is a well-written book with important historical details which give readers a lot to think about. Well-developed characters to care and empathize with round out this wonderful novel. Janice Ottersberg

THE HENNA ARTIST

Alka Joshi, MIRA, 2020, $26.99/C$33.50, hb, 368pp, 9780778309451

This debut novel is as warm and comforting as a cup of chai. The first-person narrator, Lakshmi, is a woman of mysterious origins who lives in Jaipur, a vibrant city in northern India, in 1955. She has found access to the boudoirs of the wealthy and powerful through the quality of her henna designs, her skills as a matchmaker, her reliable supplies of herbal contraceptives, and her warm, compassionate relationships with the upwardly mobile women of the new, independent India. As the novel begins, she is looking forward to moving into her own home, purchased through her own tireless ingenuity and labor. Her ambitious plans are threatened, however,

by the appearance of Radha, the sister she didn’t know she had, whose desperate escape from their home village reminds Lakshmi how precarious her independence is in a nation that still sees women and the poor as second-class citizens. Joshi has created an unforgettable, complex heroine in Lakshmi, whose practicality and humor are tested in realistic ways. Lakshmi’s profession allows Joshi to reveal her wide knowledge of Indian ayurvedic and herbal medicine, music, cuisine, and culture. The rich descriptions of food, fashion, and the diverse celebrations enjoyed by the Indian upper classes make this a fast and satisfying read that celebrates the power of sisterhood and female friendship. Kristen McDermott

STORM BIRDS

Einar Karason (transl. Quentin Bates), MacLehose Press, 2020, £10.00, pb, 110pp, 9780857059420

Iceland 1959. Trawling in the North Atlantic is hard work, and usually dangerous, but this February is something beyond the experience of even the skipper and mate of Mavur as they begin the homeward journey with a full catch of the red salmon so beloved of the British customers. The water that surges over the deck instantly freezes upon every available needed surface until the sheer weight of ice threatens to sink the ship. The lifeboats are now filled with ice and have to be manouvered overboard: if they are subsequently needed, they will all be dead men. This extraordinary little book is simply a celebration of human courage every moment making demands that seem to be impossible. There are lovely touches: these men need to be well fed, and the nourishing hot meals prepared and served by the cook are just one more achievement. They are all brave men, but as time of exposure lengthens, we are shown one small group frozen by terror into immobility. In spite of the content, this book delights in language that shows we are reading the work of a poet. Nancy Henshaw

LIBERATION

Imogen Kealey, Grand Central, 2020, $27.00, hb, 384pp, 9781538733196 / Sphere, 2020, £16.99, hb, 384pp, 9780751576016

Nancy Wake is a larger-than-life character: a journalist, secret agent, and military leader fighting Nazi forces during World War II. Her outlandish behavior and amazing accomplishments seem almost incongruent to the time, perhaps unbelievable, until you realize this story is, in fact, a biography. While some details diverge, the real Nancy Wake led a life as large and thrilling as this novel delivers. We quickly watch her leave her adopted home of Marseilles, where she led a life of luxury while secretly fighting SS forces, to her time in the Auvergne as a member of the British Special Operations Executive, where she eventually trains and leads a ground army of French resistance fighters. The novel focuses its time on this later period of action and transformation,

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although it appears Nancy offers an entire life rich with storytelling promise. Interior challenges are there, but this novel is most thrilling with the varied and engrossing action, detailing different fights with German and SS troops led by Nancy and her recruits. An SS leader serves as a composite antagonist, and various supporting characters, such as Nancy’s friend Dresden, a homosexual radio operator, enrich the world and provide a human component to cheer for in the battles. There is a cinematic quality to the novel, which provides highly visual and thrilling action sequences, so it is no surprise to learn it is already being adapted for the screen. Recommend for fans of World War II fiction or any reader looking for an exciting, action-filled glimpse into the life of an extraordinary, and until recently unknown, historical figure. Ellen Jaquette

THE NIGHT RAIDS

Jim Kelly, Allison & Busby, 2020, £19.99, hb, 352pp, 9780749024826

The third in the Nighthawk series sees the return of Detective Inspector Eden Brooke, attached to the small Cambridge police force during the Second World War. Several German aerial bomb attacks are made on the university city in an attempt to destroy an important railway bridge in advance of the planned invasion of England. Brooke himself is fortunate enough to survive an attack on a local pub that is badly damaged in a bomb raid. There is a thief on the loose who loots bomb-damaged properties in the city and desecrates corpses, and then after a post-mortem on a victim, a worse crime – murder – is discovered. Brooke’s task is to find the perpetrator quickly, but this no easy task at a time when attention is directed primarily towards surviving the bombing raids and coping with the aftermath, as well as the necessity of maintaining public morale and not doing anything that may make opportune crime worse. Matters complicate further when the murder victim’s granddaughter and her Italian lover disappear. There is the seedy side of the city’s illegal black-market operations involved as well. Eden Brooke’s insomnia continues, meaning that much of his detective work is done during Cambridge’s night-time. And he cultivates his network of friends and acquaintances that populate the city by night – his nighthawks. He has his own family worries over the war. As was the case with the second book in the series, there is an occasional historical solecism and inaccuracy – for example, the texts refer to Scrabble, yet the game was not played in the UK until mid-1950s. Eden Brooke is a likeable fellow, and the story is plotted well and the narrative proceeds admirably at the pace expected of stories in the murder/mystery/crime genre. Douglas Kemp

UNIVERSE OF TWO

Stephen P. Kiernan, William Morrow, 2020, $27.99, hb, 464pp, 9780062878441

When the U.S. enters WWII, nineteen-

year-old Brenda Dubie puts her dreams of studying the organ at a conservatory on hold. She spends her days working in her family’s Chicago music shop and her nights flirting and dancing with passing soldiers. But the shy, young mathematician who enters the shop one day is different. Charlie Fish is smart, funny, and appreciative of the toccatas and fugues that she plays. When Charlie is sent to New Mexico to do mysterious war work, Brenda follows. She doesn’t know what Charlie does all day in Los Alamos, but she sees how his work weighs on him. He’s building a detonation device for a new weapon that promises to end the war, a secret he must keep from her on pain of treason. As those around him welcome this new weapon, Charlie—nicknamed “Trigger” by the other guys—dreads it. As the war and the work in Los Alamos move towards the same endpoint, Charlie wonders what the cost of such a weapon will be, both for its targets and for those who unwillingly built it. Stephen P. Kiernan writes with heart and humor. Both Brenda and Charlie are flawed and interesting, dealing with the disruptions of young love and uncertain war. Kiernan manages to balance serious historical questions and ethical issues with lively characters, sharp dialogue, and marvelous historical detail. The character of Charlie Fish is loosely based on the real Charles Fisk, who worked on the detonation team at Los Alamos and later established an organ company. Kiernan uses the outline of Fisk’s story to ask his own questions about personal and national responsibility and explore conflicting attitudes among those who built the atomic bombs. A great read. Jessica Brockmole

VERA KELLY IS NOT A MYSTERY

Rosalie Knecht, Tin House, 2020, $15.95/ C$21.95, pb, 249pp, 9781947793798

This second in the Vera Kelly series finds the ex-CIA agent without a partner or a job, so on a whim she opens a small detective agency. After a few suspicious-husband clients, she agrees to help a couple looking for their great-nephew, the son of very well-to-do Dominican parents who have been disinherited by the regime. In her search for the missing Félix, she takes a position at a Catholic Reform School, where she discovers that although he was definitely there, he is now missing again. A note on Félix’s medical file also twigs her that the people claiming to be his great-uncle and aunt are very likely agents of Balaguer, the Dominican president, and that they are after Félix as leverage to find his parents. Following Félix’s probable bus route away from the Reform School, she tracks him down working in a restaurant, but she doesn’t approach him. Instead, she heads to Santo Domingo for more information, learns of the parents’ escape to the US and the name of a man who can find them. This novel is heavily steeped in ‘60s atmosphere, and Knecht does an excellent job

REVIEWS | Issue 92, May 2020

of evoking the climate of the times and shaping her novel around lethal Cold War politics— mentions of Haight-Ashbury, liberal hippie sex, and Vietnam napalm set the tone. The LGBT lived covertly, The Fugitive played on TV, and everyone smoked on planes. Knecht writes with dry wit and honesty. This is a small book, but extensive in its ability to tell a story with a PI who is like no one you’ve never met! Intelligent, saucy, and heroic Vera is also vulnerable at heart, and her reasons for doggedly trying to reunite parents and child lie in her own need for hearth and home – and love. I’m eagerly awaiting Vera Kelly’s next adventure. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the 1960s. Fiona Alison

CODE NAME HÉLÈNE

Ariel Lawhon, Doubleday, 2020, $27.95/ C$36.95, hb, 464pp, 9780385544689 / Headline Review, 2020, £20.00, hb, 464pp, 9781472275394

The thrilling, astoundingly incredible World War II exploits of the vivacious journalist and socialite Nancy Wake are evocatively portrayed in this ambitiously written novel. Lawhon has meticulously researched her subject and has provided an enormously entertaining saga of one woman’s daring resolve to assist in the French fight for freedom from the German occupation, while at the same time attempting to lead a life of happiness as a woman married to a wealthy Frenchman in Marseilles. Wake’s adventures are legendary: her rigorous training with the British Special Operations Executive, smuggling refugees across the Spanish border, killing a German officer with her bare hands, escaping a moving train, jumping from planes, arranging for air drops of supplies and weapons, leading men in military training camps. Lawhon’s narrative is divided by the four code names Wake used during her career, and although her timeline skips back and forth a bit, after a while it is not hard to follow. While the hard-drinking, profanity-spouting Wake’s military escapades are probably the most exciting sections, the novel also explores her sweetly romantic courtship and marriage to the charming and handsome Henri Fiocca, a strong-minded French industrialist. Good narrative pacing, vivid descriptions, well-rounded characters, and dramatic reallife situations all combine to make a fascinating tale of one woman’s courage and perseverance in the face of terrible odds and personal tragedy. I was totally enthralled by Nancy’s

story, and kudos to Lawhon for bringing this mostly forgotten heroine to the forefront. Michael I. Shoop

MONARCHS UNDER THE SASSAFRAS TREE

Lillah Lawson, Regal House, 2019, $18.95/ C$24.95/£18.99, pb, 386pp, 9781947548282

OT and his identical twin Walt are teenage orphans under the care of their older sister in hardscrabble Georgia cotton-farming country early in the 20th century. OT’s powerful internal narrative captures their downtrodden Grapes of Wrath-like existence as he manages his “teched” twin brother’s eccentricities. One night changes everything as OT connects with the love of his life and his twin brother connects with Sivvy, who has fallen under the spell of her uncle Billy Rev, a mean-spirited traveling preacher who understands that “folks just love to be told how bad they are … Makes ‘em feel so good.” The Depression Era hits, and OT is beset with tragedies and deprivations that are described with satisfying period detail and dialect that is authentic without being offputting. OT undertakes a quest to unravel the mystery of Sivvy being committed to a dreadful asylum, where she had “been captured, like a lightning bug in a dusty jar, the light gone out forever.” Along the way, OT encounters a bevy of salt of the earth, memorable characters, such as Sivvy’s family from deep in the Georgia mountains. In the end, OT’s quest is a journey to find himself. According to Ms. Lawson’s biography on her publisher’s site, Monarchs Under the Sassafras Tree “was written as a love-letter to her birthplace of North Georgia.” Her passion for the region and those who overcame its Depression-era challenges comes through admirably. Brodie Curtis

DEATH IN THE LADIES’ GODDESS CLUB

Julian Leatherdale, Allen & Unwin, 2020, A$29.99, pb, 381pp, 9781760529635

No one could accuse Julian Leatherdale of confining himself to a particular historical period of New South Wales (Australian) history. His debut novel, Palace of Tears, was set in 1914, followed by The Opal Dragonfly in the 1850s. His latest novel, Death in the Ladies’ Goddess Club, concerns Sydney in 1932. It is set in the notorious Kings Cross area during a time of complex class tensions and political unrest. Joan is a women’s magazine reviewer by day and crime writer by night. She lives in a run-down apartment building in Kings Cross with a diverse collection of bohemian characters and prostitutes. When one of her fellow residents is murdered, Joan finds herself investigating what happened and writing it into her crime novel, whilst trying to keep one step ahead of the police. Through Joan we are

taken on a strange and decadent journey that includes drugs, orgies and pagan cults. We usually associate the early 1930s with the Great Depression, poverty and unemployment. Leatherdale exposes us to a violent and dangerous world of excessive privilege, power and promiscuity, where everyone has a secret and nobody is above suspicion, including our protagonist, Joan. Christine Childs

GLORIOUS BOY

Aimee Liu, Red Hen, 2020, $18.95, pb, 344pp, 9781597098892

1942: Claire and Shep Durant, along with their mute four-year-old son, Ty, wait for evacuation to India before the imminent Japanese invasion of the remote Andaman Islands. Shep, a doctor, and Claire, a budding anthropologist, scramble with last-minute tasks while Naila, the thirteen-year-old island girl who has taken on the role of nanny, tends to Ty. But when the time to board arrives, Ty and Naila cannot be found. Shep forces Claire to sail on the boat for Calcutta and remains in Port Blair to find his son. A few days later the Japanese seize the Andamans before Shep and Ty can evacuate. Claire, desperate for news of her husband and son, uses the ethnographic skills she honed working with the Biya to develop a code based on the tribal language she had studied in the Andamans. Eventually she becomes part of a secret reconnaissance team headed back to the islands, but once there, will she find her son? And her husband? This lyrical narrative takes the reader on a sweeping emotional and physical journey, exploring themes of endurance, love, sacrifice, motherhood, guilt, and hope. Set against a ravaging world war that continually tests people’s strengths and their ability to remain human in the midst of unspeakable odds, this well-researched and absorbing book transports the reader. Basing her work on a true historical incident, Liu has taken a littleknown episode from WWII and transformed it into a moving and transcendent narrative. Recommended. Susan McDuffie

THE GIRL IN GRAY

Annette Lyon, Blue Ginger Books, 2019, $14.99, pb, 360pp, 9781946308856

Finland, December 1939. She cooked all day, he never came that night. Stood up for the last time, Sini’s had enough of waiting around for a man, Marco, who’s in love with someone else, and decides to get as far from him as possible. She enlists in the Lotta Svärd, a volunteer women’s corps. While on duty, she learns one of the nurses in her camp is the woman Marco’s in love with. To complicate her life further, she discovers a lost Russian spy in the woods. Sini knows he’ll freeze to death and decides to hide him for the night. As they get to know each other, feelings grow. However, each passing night becomes more

and more difficult for them. Should she turn him in or let herself continue to be swept away by a love she’s never felt before? As a Minnesota native, I can somewhat relate to the bitter cold the characters experience during the deathly frigid Winter War while at the same time knowing it was even colder at that time. Annette Lyon deftly explores Finnish ingenuity against the mighty Russian army in extreme environmental conditions. Sini is a woman who’s taking control of her life and finding her way amid this conflict. Her struggles while being pushed to her limits are heartfelt and relatable. The narrative switches among her, Marco, and Leila (the woman Marco loves) at significant character moments. There are a few typographical errors in the book. I also didn’t like the majority of the ending. There are too many unresolved feelings left between the characters. Despite this, the meat of this book is quite captivating. It is a well-researched story of the hardships of war and its toll intermingled with empowering threads of friendship and love. J. Lynn Else

THE KING’S JUSTICE

Susan Elia MacNeal, Bantam, 2020, $27.00/ C$36.00, hb, 340pp, 9780399593840

In this ninth book of the Maggie Hope series, Maggie is no longer a spy but is defusing German bombs in a London suffering during World War Two. Maggie is suffering, too, emotionally raw and living recklessly. She is drinking too much, smoking too much, rides a motorbike and revels in the danger of defusing live bombs. She attends the sentencing of Nicholas Reitter, a serial killer whom she has shot and injured while capturing him. She feels some relief when he is sentenced to death. But he is replaced by another, far worse serial killer known as Jimmy Greenteeth, who kills young men, packs their bones in suitcases and throws them into the Thames. Maggie is asked to help discover the identity of this new killer, but she refuses. However, when she is asked to help find a stolen Stradivarius violin, she accepts and finds an apparent link between the two cases. There also appears to be a link between Nicholas Reitter and the new serial killer. As Reitter awaits execution in the Tower of London, he offers to help the search for Jimmy Greenteeth, but only if Maggie visits him in prison. Reluctantly, she agrees, and tension mounts as he offers only scraps of useful information, making heavy emotional demands on a drained Maggie. The date of his execution draws closer. More and more suitcases full of bones are turning up on the banks of the Thames. Still, the link between Reitter and Jimmy Greenteeth remains obscure. The author builds emotional and physical tension steadily to a dramatic and unexpected conclusion. Her description of London and its frenetic, numbing wartime activity and the petty prejudices of a frightened people are

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uncomfortably true to life. This is a multi-layered book, powerful on many levels. Valerie Adolph

THE ROCK BLASTER

Henning Mankell (trans. George Goulding), MacLehose Press, 2020, £16.99, hb, 195pp, 9780857059451

This book covers the period from the beginning to the last half of the 20th century and follows the life of Oskar Johansson. At the beginning of the story he is employed in blasting holes through mountains to lay railway lines. This, of necessity, involves using dynamite, and when one charge fails to go off, he is sent in to see why. The result is pretty horrendous for him, as the charge does blow and he is badly injured. The rest of the book follows his life through and, although badly disabled, he struggles to maintain a normal life of both work and family. This was Mankell’s debut novel, originally written in Swedish, and this is the first English translation. I have not read any other Swedish books so know nothing of their accepted style of writing, but I found this one slightly irritating in that it was written in very short bursts and seemed more like reading a diary than a novel. The publicity sheet refers to it as ‘written with scalpel-like precision.’ It follows the events of the 20th century, both social and political, and makes for an interesting read but in itself would not draw me to any of the many others written by Mankell who is probably better known in England for his Wallander series which have been televised with enthusiastic reviews. There is a useful glossary of Swedish terms for people, places and organisations at the end of the book which I found helpful. Marilyn Sherlock

YOURS, JEAN

Lee Martin, Dzanc, 2020, $26.95, hb, 240pp, 9781950539147

The first day of school in 1952 seems full of promise for new school librarian Jean De Belle. Not only does the day mark the start of her career, but it also marks a fresh start in Lawrenceville, Illinois after a messy breakup with her fiancé Charlie. Little does she know that Charlie has followed her to Lawrenceville to convince her to take back his ring… or else. By the end of the day, someone is dead and the small town is reeling from the violence that shattered its peace. As those who encountered Charlie— the hotel clerk who rented Charlie a room, the cab driver who drove him to the high school, the girl who let him into the building, the boy who unwillingly became his getaway driver, the teacher who found Jean—prepare for the trial, 44

they each struggle with their own problems. Life in Lawrenceville is not as peaceful as it seems. Although inspired by a real crime, Yours, Jean is not a thriller. The murder is not the book’s inciting incident; rather it’s a foil to the small events and private struggles in the lives of those who witness it. Most of the book takes place in the weeks after, as those who knew Jean and crossed paths with Charlie reassess their relationships. As the title suggests, it’s, improbably, a story about love. Although Charlie’s twisted expectations of love begin the story, other characters deal with love in all of its forms—romantic, familial, yearning, platonic. Wrapped up in spare, effective writing and marvelous historical detail about the smalltown Midwest of the 1950s, Yours, Jean is a quiet, compelling read. Highly recommended. Jessica Brockmole

DEACON KING KONG

James McBride, Riverhead, 2020, $28.00, hb, 384pp, 9780735216723

This novel is set in a Brooklyn housing project called the Cause in 1969. The eponymous protagonist (also called Sportcoat), a widowed alcoholic and deacon at the local Baptist church, commits a crime that puzzles everyone who knows him. But this is not a crime novel: it is a love song for an unusual community. Even though the individuals inhabiting the Cause have nicknames as interesting as their backstories, they only matter insofar as they relate to one another. This is not a typical historical novel: events outside the Cause don’t merit much attention. What matters to this community is when one of their own gets in trouble or goes missing, not which president is in office or Neil Armstrong landing on the moon. The history that does matter to them is that of their local church and even that of the dreaded red ants that infest the neighborhood (McBride playfully traces the history of these ants back to 1951 Colombia). The community has what one character thinks of as “that projects look: the sadness, the suspicion, the weariness, the knowledge that came from living a special misery in a world of misery.” But along with the substance abuse, crime, and poverty, McBride also captures powerful glimmers of hope in this tight-knit group. The large cast of characters confused me at times, but when I stopped trying to remember everyone and just let the story flow around me, rather like listening to an orchestra without trying to identify separate instruments, I enjoyed it. I also appreciated McBride’s snappy, rhythmic narrative voice that beautifully captures his characters’ idiosyncrasies. Clarissa Harwood

THE WAXWORK CORPSE

Simon Michael, Sapere, 2020, $10.99/£8.99, pb, 355pp, 9781913335823

A woman’s body, covered in plastic sheeting and tightly bound with ropes and coaxial

REVIEWS | Issue 92, May 2020

cables, is caught on the edges of Tiffen’s Rock in Wastwater, England’s deepest lake. Her eyes are open but they almost melt into her nose; her mouth is blurred, her face mimicking a waxwork figure that has been exposed to a flame. She is the wife of Lord Justice Sir Anthony Steele, QC, and has been missing for 13 years. When Steele is arrested for her murder, barrister Charles Holborne is pressed into service as his prosecutor. The Waxwork Corpse is the fifth in the Charles Holborne series of legal thrillers. Set in 1965, the novel continues to develop the dual nature of the main character. Having forsaken his name, upbringing, and Jewish heritage as Charlie Horowitz, Holborne has alienated members of his family, particularly his mother, and tried to hide his sometimes violent and dodgy past. In this edition he confronts his past decisions and actions, reexamining his relationships with his parents and their faith and keeping one step ahead of a blackmailer. The case against Steele is based on an actual prosecution for murder in the Old Bailey in the 1970s. The collection of evidence is straightforward; witness statements, coroner and police reports are brisk and matter-of-fact; the testimony at court is layered, progressive, and often emotional. However, the facts are easy to plumb. Instead of stringing the reader along, the plot telegraphs Holborne’s discoveries to the point that the reader is surprised he hadn’t seen them sooner. But the novel is less of a thriller and more of a journey of understanding, acceptance, and appreciation of kinship. Readers will look for Holborne’s next moves. K. M. Sandrick

MORE MIRACLE THAN BIRD

Alice Miller, Tin House, 2020, $25.95/ C$34.95, hb, 380pp, 9781947793767 This is a magical novel—in the most literal sense. And yet Alice Miller has based her first book-length fiction, More Miracle than Bird, firmly on facts. It is the story of the courtship and marriage (in 1917) of the Irish poet William Butler Yeats, 52, and the English Georgie Hyde-Lees, 25, told mostly, very beautifully, from her point of view. After being refused in short order by two other women, one of the greatest poets of the 20th century abruptly married an enigmatic third. What? Why? How? Fact and fiction are equally compelling; Miller has made a wonderful novel out of the bizarre truth. The story unfolds mostly in London during World War I, where Georgie was a nurse in an army hospital and Yeats was a literary celebrity. Also, the ex-lover of her best friend’s mother. They moved in the same esotericaesthetic social circles. Both belonged to the mystical Hermetic Brotherhood of the Golden Dawn (robes, ceremonies, tests). Both were fascinated by the occult. (Incidentally, so were other major contemporary writers as disparate as Conan Doyle and Hodgson Burnett.) “If I had not made magic my constant study

I could not have written a single word,” Yeats asserted. His critics differ on that point. But according to his biographer Richard Ellmann: “Had Yeats died instead of marrying in 1917, he would have been remembered as a remarkable minor poet.” The honeymoon was a disaster until—abracadabra!—Georgie became a spirit medium and “automatic” writer of mystical messages. Extremely useful material for a symbolic poet! Together they produced 4000 visionary pages, two babies and Yeats’s incomparable late poetry. Magic? She used, then retracted the word “fake.” Read the book … see what you think. Susan Lowell

ACROSS THE WAY

Mary Monroe, Kensington, 2020, $26.00/ C$35.00, hb, 288pp, 9781496716170

This final book in the Neighbor trilogy continues the story of two black couples Odell and Joyce, and Milton and Yvonne in 1930s Alabama. Both couples live in the upscale colored part of town. In the first book, One House Over, Odell and Joyce tell the story of their contentious relationship with neighbors Milton and Yvonne. The second book, Over the Fence, continues as Milton and Yvonne narrate. Now all four voices blend in wrapping up this engaging, exasperating story of lies, infidelity, blackmail, and fraud. Odell, manager of the store owned by Joyce’s father, is still secretly seeing and supporting his other wife and three children by skimming money and merchandise from the store. Milton and Yvonne consider themselves to be on the “straight and narrow” ever since they found Jesus in jail, but this doesn’t stop them from blackmailing Odell and stealing goods from the store he manages. Milton spends his ill-gotten gains gambling and visiting Aunt Mattie’s house of prostitutes. Peopled with so many colorful characters, this book is a delight to read. Milton and Yvonne’s friend Willie Frank is “the lowest kind of white: a tobacco-shewing, snaggletooth, uneducated hillbilly that made his living running a still.” Willie provides the two with moonshine for the bootlegging jook joint they run out of their house. Joyce is the only innocent person in all this. She is oblivious to the illegal shenanigans of the other three. She adores Odell and he can do no wrong. Instead, she is focused on raising Yvonne and Milton “up to our level of class, spirituality, and sophistication.” The racial attitudes of the South are woven into the story, and the characters deal with segregation in every part of their lives. The story drags midway through as the blackmailing of Odell becomes repetitive, but stick with it. The unforgettable, dramatic ending wraps up the series perfectly. Janice Ottersberg

A LIVERPOOL GIRL

Elizabeth Morton, Penguin, 2019, £6.99, pb, 440pp, 9781529103526

This is a story of a Catholic Liverpool family in the 1950s, in particular the story of teenage girl Babby and her relationship with her mother, her two siblings and also the nuns who run the local convent school. Her father had been killed in a pub brawl two years before the start of the story in 1955, and the family has fallen on hard times, setting her mother to drink. As the relationship between mother and daughter gets more difficult the rebellious Babby is sent to Anglesey to help on a farm and be educated by the local nuns. There she meets and falls in love with the handsome Callum, but there is a secret that she must discover before the story is out. The author, who has had a dual career as an actress and a writer, was born and lived in the Liverpool area, and the local descriptions are believable and full of nostalgia. As somebody who grew up in a sand dune village a few miles north of Liverpool, I can vouch for the true and realistic flavour that the writing imparts and the warmth in the descriptions of the characters. The novel, the writer’s first full length book, is billed on the blurb as being for fans of Call the Midwife on BBC television with its snapshot of family and community life after the war. It is also a recommended read, by me, for fans of the books of Helen Forrester beginning with the autobiographical Tuppence to Cross the Mersey and her later novels. Julie Parker

YOU SHALL NOT KILL

Julia Navarro, Grupo, 2019, $17.95, pb, 989pp, 9781644731246

Madrid, 1942. After Franco seizes power, childhood friends Fernando, Eulogio, and Catalina inherit a Spain marked by hate, cruelty, and greed. Whether Republican or Nationalist, their fathers refuse to take responsibility for the conflict that pitted Spaniard against Spaniard. As the Catholic Church looks on, racketeers prey upon society, while Franco’s fascists carry out mass arrests and executions. Among their victims is Fernando’s father whose murder sets his son into a tailspin of retribution, forcing him to flee abroad and abandon his beloved mother. Fernando has pledged himself to Catalina, and although she is pregnant by Marvin, an American poet, he takes her to Alexandria so that she can track down the father of her daughter, Adela. In Alexandria, Fernando becomes part of a group of resistance fighters and, together with a mysterious femme fatale, aids the victims of the Third Reich. At the end of World War II, he and Catalina settle in Paris, since they each harbor a secret, which prevents them from returning home to Spain. It takes another generation—Adela—to lay to rest the vicious cycle of injustice and reprisal set into motion by Franco’s tyranny. A story of epic proportions and a large cast of characters, rich in wartime horror and tragic incident, You Shall Not Kill vividly describes Madrid in the aftermath of the Spanish

Civil War. Navarro’s female protagonists—a trio of strong, devoted mothers—and her principal antagonist—the perverse, stubborn Catalina—are remarkable creations. When the setting changes to Nazi-occupied Africa and Europe, the action proceeds at such a breathtaking pace, it sometimes detracts from the depth of the character development. Still, the story remains riveting, concealing the scandal at the heart of the plot until all is revealed in a sensational finale. Elisabeth Lenckos

THE MOUNTAINS SING

Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, Oneworld, 2020, £14.99, hb, 340pp, 9781786079503 / Algonquin, 2020, $26.95, hb, 352pp, 9781616208189

This was a difficult book to read with the world as we know it being torn apart by the Corona virus, but it ends with a message of hope. It reads like an autobiography – and when I went back to the dedication, it was clear there’s a lot of lived experience there. The story revolves around one strong lady and her family, starting in 1920. Forced to flee the family farm with nothing except her children when the Communist government strips “evil landowners” of everything, Tran Dieu Lan is forced to leave the children in safe refuges one by one until she is able to build a new life in the city and return to rescue them. Half a century later, Vietnam is at war, this time the North against the South; Dieu Lan is forced to watch as her children are again ripped away by conflict, and she must provide for her young granddaughter in any way she can. Eventually, the family can unite around the love the granddaughter finds for a young man who turns out to be from their ancestral village, and generations-old wounds can start to heal. The author was born in Vietnam in 1973. The dedication reads: “For my grandmother, who perished in the Great Hunger; for my grandfather, who died because of the Land Reform; for my uncle, whose youth the Viet Nam War consumed.” We’ve had it easy in the West. Perhaps we can learn how to face up to adversity, and live in hope, by reading about women such as these. Nicky Moxey

MY RED HEAVEN

Lance Olsen, Dzanc, 2019, $16.95/£12.99, pb, 260pp, 9781950539031

June 10, 1927, Berlin. Like the abstract blocks of color in the contemporar y painting by Jewish-German artist Otto Freundlich of the same title as this book, blocks of prose in different styles evoke the lives of about thirty people living in the German capital on this day:

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Franz Kafka dying of consumption, Martin Buber, Greta Garbo among others. Werner Heisenberg mulling over quantum physics. Even the rising politician, veteran of the Great War, Adolf Hitler is wonderfully humanized with details of his vegetarianism and bad teeth as he devises the chant that will carry his career forward: Sieg Heil. Rosa Luxemburg has already died and become a fluttering blue butterfly who gets crushed by the careless boots of a retired sommelier and his long-time lover Julian. So do varied vignettes fade into one another, particularly focused on the death of a man in traffic in a public square. And life goes on— Everyday life seems uneventful as the high culture and scientific ascendency of this place and time proceed, sometimes in a sordid Cabaret sort of way. But the reader is prodded to make the plot herself, to see where these lives will be in fifteen years, the Third Reich not to be denied or turned aside by either humanity, creativity or intellect. Those seeking a traditional plot will be confused. But I thought the book brilliant, the height of what our language and genre can accomplish. Ann Chamberlin

NOVEMBER TO JULY

Marilyn Oser, Independently Published, 2019, £10.64/$12.95, pb, 289pp, 9781687358653

Visiting her Aunt Faye in Paris in 1914, Eleanor Simons volunteers as a nurse and works mainly in the Military Hospital, Val de Grâce, treating men with horrendous facial injuries. She is loved by her patients and admired by the doctors, but grieves for Donaldson, an American trainee pilot killed when his plane crashed. When hostilities cease in November 1918 and Aunt Faye marries Jorg, whom Eleanor dislikes, Eleanor leaves nursing and works behind the scenes at the Paris Peace Conference, which concludes with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in July 1919. Eleanor’s viewpoint is a bitter and sceptical account of both the women she works alongside and her keen observations of major international figures, such as Georges Clemenceau, Lloyd George and Woodrow Wilson, as she translates, types, prints, and carries huge piles of documents from committee to sub-committee around the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Eleanor is virtually alone in thinking Germany should have been invited, but while the Allies wine and dine in celebration, the Germans are starving to death. November to July left me with mixed feelings. The author admirably shows how and why the Treaty of Versailles was a total shambolic disaster. It was amended many times but even so helped lead the way to the rise of Hitler and the Second World War. However, for a novel, there is more “tell” than “show.” A main character should make things happen rather than have things happen to her, and that character should be different from the one we meet in the opening pages. 46

Unfortunately, I disliked Eleanor for much of the time, and this spoiled for me what was otherwise a finely wrought historical novel. Sally Zigmond

THERE WAS STILL LOVE

Favel Parrett, Hachette Australia, A$29.99, pb, 212 pp, 9780733630682

The much anticipated There Was Still Love is Favel Parrett’s third novel. It continues her legacy of writing moving fiction in her sparse but sentimental prose with a keen eye for cataloguing the intricacies of domestic life. This resplendent novel grapples with the personal ramifications of political upheavals as it tells a story inspired by the lives of Parrett’s Czechoslovakian grandparents, Mitzi and Bill, and their exile in Melbourne. The story is predominantly told through the perspectives of two grandchildren, Ludek and Liska, which imbues the novel with a child-like sensitivity. The novel’s conflict lies with Mana and Eva in Prague in 1938, twin sisters tragically parted in their youth by the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia. It hops forward in time as it follows Mana and Eva’s continued separation through the Cold War period, into 1980. Here we witness Mana through the perspective of Liska (also referred to as Little Fox), whose parents are mysteriously absent, in Melbourne. Alongside this, we follow Eva through the perspective of Ludek, in Prague, whose mother is part of a travelling theatre group. In following these stories, Parrett examines how these ruptured lives are reconciling the run-on effects of the Munich agreement in 1938. The story deals with the private challenges of living in exile and explores the struggle of finding home in a new culture and language. What ties this unusual and at times fragmented narrative structure together is a shared sense of the binding power of family. As is expected, in the wake of her bold success, Parrett’s novel is exquisitely written. It leaves us with a lasting emotive message of the disruptiveness and life-altering course of occupation, invasion and forced immigration. Like her last two novels, it has garnered a wave of critical success. It has won the Indie Book Award and has been shortlisted for the Stella Prize. I would recommend reading this historical novel in close proximity to a box of tissues. Georgia Rose Phillips

SERVING UP LOVE

Tracie Peterson, Karen Witemeyer, Regina Jennings, and Jen Turano, Bethany House, 2019, $15.99, pb, 371pp, 9780764232695

This is an anthology of four Christian romance novellas, about young women who worked for America’s first restaurant chain, Harvey House, set between 1898 and 1929. Peterson’s story involves Gretchen returning to New Mexico to be a “house mother” supervising the waitresses, where she runs into the former fiancé who deserted her. Witemeyer’s Rosalind is working at a Harvey House in Texas, hoping to get transferred to

REVIEWS | Issue 92, May 2020

California where she might be able to escape becoming notorious for a youthful indiscretion. Jennings’ Willow works as a Harvey girl to support her family back home, and becomes involved in investigating liquor smuggling on the trains that bring supplies to the restaurant. And Turano’s Myrtle, disillusioned with New York society life, has come West to work at the Harvey House at the Grand Canyon, where she becomes attracted to an uneducated yet charming man. I enjoyed the relationships most in Witemeyer’s and Turano’s stories. Witemeyer’s has a particularly satisfying ending, as Caleb helps Rosalind deal with her indiscretion in a surprising way. And Turano’s class conflict angle is interesting. All the stories are good, however, and the historical tidbits about life as a Harvey girl are fascinating. Recommended. B. J. Sedlock

CLOSE UP

Amanda Quick, Berkley, 2020, $27.00, hb, 293pp, 9781984806840

In this fourth novel of Amanda Quick’s Burning Cove series, set in the 1930s, Vivian Brazier is working as a crime scene photographer in a small ritzy town near Los Angeles. She is keeping this occupation secret, as her goal is to be a fine art photographer. People in that up-and-coming profession tend to snub those who snap pictures of reality. But crime scenes, at the moment, are paying the bills. Early on, Vivian deduces that the infamous Dagger Killer is also a photographer, and she sets the police on the right track to find him. But this is only the beginning. She herself becomes a target of someone, and the mystery begins. Nick Sundridge comes to her door and introduces himself as her protector. He has a special talent, the ability to see things that others can’t. They discover the Dagger Killer has connections to the glamour of Hollywood and high society, with which Vivian is familiar from her upbringing in a wealthy household. The two join forces to uncover the one who wishes to kill Vivian and discover, in addition, a love for each other. This novel is an easy and fun read, with clean, uncomplicated writing and clever plot turns. It introduces a new set of characters into Burning Cove and weaves in those from previous novels in the series. Within the genre of historical fiction, this novel could be called romantic suspense, romantic mystery, or pure escapism. It leaves the reader with a cozy feeling of being a part of this world for a time and wanting to return. Lorelei Brush

ONLY THE RIVER

Anne Raeff, Counterpoint, 2020, $26.00, hb, 304pp, 9781640093348

In 1938, during the Anschluss, a Jewish family escapes from Vienna to El Castillo, Nicaragua. The parents, both doctors, establish a clinic to assist in eradicating yellow

fever. Their fourteen-year-old daughter, Pepa, helps in running the household, plays in the streets, and wanders in the forest. Pepa meets a village boy, Guillermo, and they fall in love, spending idyllic days in the jungle and on the river. In 1942, Pepa gets pregnant but keeps it secret from Guillermo. However, with Pepa’s parents’ efforts in controlling yellow fever having some success, they are offered visas to the United States and jump at the opportunity. The family leaves for New York, but Pepa is lovesick for Guillermo. Later, both marry others and have children. In 1982, Pepa’s son, William, decides to go to Nicaragua to fight for the country’s independence. He disappears and is presumed dead. Although distraught, Pepa is too old and sick to travel, so her lesbian daughter, Liliana, journeys to Nicaragua to determine William’s whereabouts. Anne Raeff’s multigenerational novel portrays the plights of a Viennese Jewish refugee family and the Nicaraguan people, who suffer from the yellow fever epidemic and revolutionary wars. The detailed descriptions of life in Nicaraguan villages and cities, in the households of both the native residents and Europeans, are recounted realistically. These are most likely based upon the author’s travels and extensive research. Through the voices of the vast cast of characters, we learn of their apprehensions, loneliness, and efforts at reconciliation from their uprooting. The racial segregationist attitudes of the European settlers and the friendly but cautious approach of the native Nicaraguans are subtly woven into the storyline. The novel cleverly presents the inhabitants’ reliance on the river, and the knowledge and willpower to take up arms, which “only the river” can provide. A linear narrative would have enhanced the book’s readability. Waheed Rabbani

PASSAGE WEST

Rishi Reddi, Ecco, 2020, $28.99, hb, 448pp, 9780060898793

Every immigrant has a story. So does every immigrant culture. Mingling loss and gain, hope and pain, human migration continues to this day, but Rishi Reddi’s first novel, Passage West, explores the history of a somewhat unknown group: South Asians (specifically, Sikhs from Punjab) transplanted to the West Coast around 1910. Mostly men, they came to labor in lumber mills and farms, where, like many other immigrants, they faced racism, inequality, and xenophobia—along with the possibility of success. A South Asian immigrant herself, Reddi centers the novel around three young Punjabis: Ram, Karak, and Amarjeet Singh, farmworkers and sharecroppers in Southern California’s Imperial Valley, where by 1913 new irrigation systems transformed the desert into fertile cropland. Karak is a hotheaded risktaker, Amarjeet young enough to Americanize somewhat, attending high school and joining the army. Ram, the main character, is a

bystander, always betwixt and between—half Hindu, fatherless, a poor cousin whose longsuffering wife, Padma, remains in India along with their son. These interwoven stories are smoothly and sympathetically told. Reddi integrates letters, newspaper articles, songs, quotations, correct Spanish, and even a cartoon into her narrative. There is drama (a race riot, a murder, a High Noon confrontation) and conflicted tenderness (Ram falls in love with Adela, a refugee from the Mexican Revolution) while poor abandoned Padma tugs at the reader’s heart. The raw, arid country setting is convincingly evoked. Yet for all its poignance, accuracy, and worthiness, the novel never really catches fire. We sometimes seem to plod from disaster to disaster. Perhaps Reddi’s diligent research is almost too obvious? Curious readers will also enjoy Suzanne McMahon’s nonfictional Echoes of Freedom: South Asian Pioneers in California, 1899-1965, where wonderful period photographs perfectly illustrate Passage West. Susan Lowell

THE HOUSE AT SILVERMOOR

Tracy Rees, Quercus, 2020, £7.99, pb, 488pp, 9781786486707

Tracy Rees’s fifth novel is set in a South Yorkshire mining community in the years 1897 to 1905. Tommy and Josie are childhood friends and ultimately sweethearts from neighbouring rival villages, and the novel is told through their distinctive alternating voices. Tommy’s is a notably cultured one, though we learn early that he, like all his companions, has had to leave school early and go underground. Yet Tommy dreams of another life, of books and daylight, and so we read on (with ease, as this novel is so beautifully written) to find out just what has enabled him to take another course and to tell his story as he does. The pits are owned by the Sedgewicks, in their own way enlightened, and the Barridges, whose only concern is to get the most they can out of the labour of their employees, regardless of legalities. Rees descends from Welsh coal-mining stock, but the story she tells is set in a time preceding any real concerns for the safety of those who toiled to get coal. The miners pack their caps with folded newspaper; that is their protective headgear. The description of Tommy’s experiences underground is terrifying, vivid and claustrophobic; I read on breathlessly desperate for him to return to the surface, filthy and exhausted but safe. Tommy’s life takes a different turn when he and Josie make the acquaintance of Manus, a Boo Radley-like recluse in a lonely house owned by the Barridges. Josie also takes a different course in life from that mapped out for her, a process hastened by her mother’s unkindness and the revelation of a mystery surrounding her birth. The denouément is truly satisfying, with all loose ends tied up – tight plotting lightly worn. Katherine Mezzacappa

THE LONG TAKE

Robin Robertson, Knopf, 2020, $19.00, pb, 256pp, 9781524711429 / Picador, 2018, £14.99, hb, 256pp, 9781509846887

In this McCarthyism-era tale, our protagonist is a Nova Scotian named Walker who is trying to find a place to forget the horrors of the war. Instead of returning to his family on their quiet island, he heads to New York City, and later San Francisco and Los Angeles. He finds steady work in Los Angeles as a writer for the Press and soon discovers his niche in stories about the city people—those who live on the streets or in blighted buildings, those who were in the wars (The Great War, WWII, and the Korean War) and those who were pushed from other places with no resources. It is the time of film noir, and there is plenty of name-dropping and descriptions of the streets used as movie sets. Yet more than a recap of popular movies, this book reads like a bitter love story to the memory of a changing city. Buildings are being dismantled as parking lots and highways are being installed. The very landscape is changing drastically—hills leveled, trees uprooted, and the street people removed one way or another. This parallels Walker’s gradual decline in mental state. That he has PTSD is apparent early on, but the author balances this condition perfectly with his present experiences, likening what would be mundane occurrences to harrowing triggers. As the city buildings fall, so too does Walker. Written in verse and further separated by text style, this narrative will appeal to those who enjoy an out-of-the-ordinary read—more especially as this one breaks with the overly saturated World War theme while still dealing with its aftereffects. Included is a detailed map of downtown Los Angeles (1948-1958) and photographs throughout. This is a thoughtprovoking and original take on mid-century America. Recommended. Arleigh Ordoyne

THE GERMAN HEIRESS (US) / FINDING CLARA (UK)

Anika Scott, William Morrow, 2020, $16.99, pb, 357pp, 9780062937728 / Hutchinson, 2020, £14.99, hb, 368pp, 9781786331878

Nearly two years after the war, Clara Falkenberg, the daughter and surviving heir to her family’s ironworks factory, has taken on an assumed identity to avoid arrest by allied forces for war crimes. The Nazis supplied the Falkenberg Ironworks with slave labor to make vehicles, tanks, and airplanes for Germany’s war effort. The celebrated “Iron Fräulein” took over the business near the end of the war and made some effort to improve the quality of life for her workers. But what haunts her through The German Heiress is the “what ifs” of her choices. Fenshaw, a determined British officer, dogs her every move as she sets off for Essen, her hometown, to find her close friend Elisa. Clara

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manages to escape his capture and arrives to find her city destroyed and Elisa missing. In her efforts to track down her friend, she meets a crippled ex-soldier who, unbeknownst to Clara, would also like to find Elisa. It all comes together in an interesting “cat and mouse” game. Scott manages to keep up the suspense while delivering thoughtful inner dialogue of the conflicted choices the main characters had to make. A few times the reactions of some of the characters push believability, but Scott is a fine writer and one who promises a great future. Mary Lawrence

THE ATTEMPTED MURDER OF TEDDY ROOSEVELT

Burt Solomon, Forge, 2019, $27.99, hb, 295pp, 9780765392671

On September 3, 1902, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, President Teddy Roosevelt narrowly escapes death when his horse-drawn carriage is struck by an electric streetcar. Teddy’s Secret Service guard is crushed to death, and the president and other members of his entourage receive multiple injuries. Initial circumstances seem to indicate the event is merely a tragic accident. But “TR” and several others think there may be more here than meets the eye. Fascinatingly, the president enlists his Secretary of State, John Hay, to investigate the circumstances. It seems the president knows that Hay has been a dogged and successful amateur sleuth going back to the days when the now State Department Chief was then President Abe Lincoln’s personal secretary. Hay reluctantly accepts the mission, though he is inwardly enthusiastic to be emulating Sherlock Holmes. The Secret Service provides Hay with the colorful and famous investigative reporter, Nellie Bly, as his assistant. The hunt to solve the mystery begins. Any novel which features Teddy Roosevelt, America’s most interesting president, even as a supporting character, is almost certainly going to shine. I was enthralled with this grand, historically illuminative book from the first few pages. Delivered in the first person from Hay’s perspective, the protagonist comes across as admirable and vibrant at 63 years old. The pages are chock full of a cornucopia of littleknown kernels of Americana. A complicated man, Hay is equally at home conversing and socializing with the nation’s political and cultural elite and in roughhousing in the ring with tough young Irish boxers. The author’s 48

prose is comforting and enticing – quite unique. Because of his combative style, TR is described as “a new kind of president for a new century.” With a surprise ending I never saw coming, this is a superlative work by Burt Solomon. Thomas J. Howley

EXILE MUSIC

Jennifer Steil, Viking, 2020, $27.00, hb, 419pp, 9780525561811

When Germany annexes Austria in 1938, a young girl’s perfect childhood—filled with love, art, and storytelling—comes to an end. Since Orly’s family is Jewish, her parents flee Vienna, following their older son who has left ahead of them. But the world’s nations are barring their doors to the refugees, and only Bolivia is willing to take them in. Faced with its alien culture, Orly’s father seeks solace in his music, while her mother secludes herself in her kitchen. Only Orly is willing to explore the country that has granted her refuge. With the aid of her friend Miguel, she discovers its native peoples and ancient traditions. But with the end of World War II, Nazi fugitives arrive in Bolivia, prompting profound thoughts of vengeance in Orly’s mother and leading her to take terrible risks. When the peace also brings relatives and old friends to La Paz—among them, the love of Orly’s life—the family must examine whether they wish to go back to Europe, or whether home lies in Bolivia. This novel documents a largely unknown chapter in the history of the Jewish diaspora. Through the character of Orly, Steil gives us a wondrous evocation of the openness of childhood, a heroine who perceives beauty and wisdom where her elders see only strangeness. While clear-eyed to the horrors of colonial exploitation, Orly delights in her new world, and her appreciation allows her to come to terms with banishment in this faraway sphere. As she grows into a writer, we come to care deeply for her as a person who is able to transform exile into an adventure, and an unfamiliar sphere into a place to call home. Elisabeth Lenckos

WOLF

Herbert J. Stern and Alan A. Winter, Skyhorse, 2020, $27.99, hb, 539pp, 9781510751088

A gravely injured soldier wakens from a coma in the Royal Ear and Nose Clinic of Charité Hospital in Berlin eight months after the end of WWI. Having no recollection of his past during or before the war, the soldier is transferred to Pasewalk Military Hospital, where he receives a new identity—Friedrich Richard—and begins a relationship with an enigmatic, troubled man—Wolf, also known as Adolf Hitler. The two men interact with one another across the tumultuous postwar period, while the German economy fractures under pressures from the Versailles Treaty, the Republic implodes, and nationalists and communists vie for power. As described by the authors, Wolf relies on new and hitherto unrecognized aspects of Hitler’s personality. While historians have

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reported that Hitler was unable to forge friendships or sexual liaisons, Stern and Winter have uncovered interviews that demonstrate Hitler had many loyal friends and young lovers. The book is carefully researched, and details are documented in comprehensive Historical Notes that are separately available (at notesonwolf.com). Wolf views Hitler through Richard’s eyes, first as a man whose blindness after trench warfare has more to do with his psyche than mustard gas, later as a charismatic speaker and seducer of teenage girls. Richard traces key events in the rise of Nazism from the beerhall putsch to the Night of the Long Knives and the burning of the Reichstag. While Richard is a witness, he is not an in-depth observer. He tells what happens but does not show how. As a result, the nuances of behavior and cadences of speech that bring understanding are lost to the reader. New light shines on Wolf, but he is still not fully seen. K. M. Sandrick

THE OCCUPATION

Deborah Swift, Sapere, 2019, $9.99/£8.50, pb, 338pp, 9781913335274

Céline and Fred are newlyweds building their life on the Channel Island of Jersey when WWII and the threat of German occupation loom on their horizon. The atmosphere on the island makes it necessary to keep Fred’s German nationality a secret. When he is conscripted into the Wehrmacht and sent to occupied France, Céline is left behind to keep their bakery operating. Many islanders evacuate, leaving those who remain to face the German army. Homes and vehicles are requisitioned for the occupied forces, and the islanders now live with fear and helplessness as they struggle to adjust to their new lives. Swift has given us two remarkable characters in Céline and Fred. Céline is resourceful in providing bread for the islanders and the army with minimal resources. Her bravery and resilience rise to meet the German demands placed on her. When the townspeople find out that Fred is a German, she is ostracized and hated under a cloud of suspicion as a collaborator. The situation worsens when her brother-in-law, Oberleutnant Horst, appears and takes up residence with her. Horst is a ruthless Nazi, whereas his brother Fred is peace-loving and not suited to war. Life in the Wehrmacht is brutal as Fred is shaped into a proper German soldier. He becomes disgusted and disillusioned by what he observes around him. He is assigned as a spy to infiltrate the French Resistance to bring in one of their leaders. As he becomes enmeshed with them, his sympathies shift, and his loyalties divide. This novel is told in alternating, firstperson narratives between Céline and Fred. What distinguishes and elevates this book over other WWII novels are these characters: their relationship, strength of character, and unparalleled bravery. Swift also conveys the good and bad in people on both sides of the

war along with the moral complexities they face. Janice Ottersberg

A HUNDRED SUNS Karin Tanabe, St. Martin’s, 2020, $27.99/ C$37.99, hb, 400pp, 9781250231475

Victor Lesage, a Michelin cousin through his mother, is determined to work his way into the inner circle of Michelin’s ClermontFerrand seat of power, but so far is only working on restaurant guides. To advance his stalled career, he and wife Jessie relocate to Indochine to oversee the rubber plantations in Cochinchine (Vietnam), a prospect never before contemplated by the Michelin family. On their first night in their new home, Jessie encounters the glamorous and alluring Marcelle de Fabry, wife of a successful financier. Immediately enchanted, she is drawn into Marcelle’s circle, which includes Khoi Nguyen, Marcelle’s long-time lover and heir to an Indochine silk fortune. The moist, sultry heat of Hanoi and indolent life of the rich fascinate Jessie as she is led into a web of deceit where she begins to question everything around her. Taking place between September and November 1933, the past and present unfold in alternating narrations by Jessie and Marcelle, creating an intoxicating read, as Tanabe sustains a thriller-like tension from the outset. The plot is a haunting mystery, and once begun it’s hard to put down – the pace is as tightly wound as the characters. The histories of Jessie, Marcelle, and Khoi pivotally entwine in the unsettling themes dealt with here: corruption and power, professed philosophies falling in favour of lifestyle preferences, the prejudgment of others, and lies and manipulation. Woven into this is the shameful history of the horrific mistreatment of plantation workers purely in aid of profit. Beatings, rape and torture were an accepted part of the French colonisation of Indochine: the death tolls were staggering, and the native people viewed as subhuman. Not one character emerges from this with their hands clean, and the denouement, which gives no clear picture of who is right and who isn’t, makes no judgement. Riveting, multi-layered food for thought. Fiona Alison

THE GIRL FROM KINGSLAND MARKET

June Tate, Allison & Busby, 2019, £19.99, hb, 352pp, 9780749024888

1920, Southampton. Phoebe Collins, a determined market trader, takes over the family fruit and vegetable stall to help support her mother and brother after the death of her beloved father in the Somme. Set against the harsh reality of post-Great War life, the struggle for survival is hard. The market traders have to be hardy enough to withstand all weathers, strong enough to physically cope and also combat the daily toil against poverty. The harsher elements of criminal life are a challenge for spirited young Phoebe. The author conveys all of this detail with great skill whilst keeping the flow of the plot moving at an engaging pace. When newcomer, Ben, arrives, he attracts Phoebe’s attention as well as that of the notorious Stanley bros. He deflects their curiosity with deft skill. Phoebe’s world is about to take a different direction again when, just as she is finding her new friend endearing, she unexpectedly witnesses a horrific crime, but cannot share this secret with anyone. Tragedy, never far away, follows. The pace of this lovingly woven saga accelerates further as the law closes in on the notorious Stanley brothers. In Phoebe and Ben we have two compelling characters that the reader can strongly empathise with and who will not disappoint their expectations. I could not write this review without mentioning the sad loss of the author. Her work is testament to the talent she had for breathing life into fiction and creating absorbing warm characters in settings that depicted a clear image of social history in very troubled times. Highly recommended for lovers of action-packed sagas. Valerie Loh

WHEN SILENCE SINGS

Sarah Loudin Thomas, Bethany House, 2019, $15.99, pb, 344pp, 9780764234002

For decades, the feud between the Harpe and the McLean families in the coal-mining region of West Virginia has simmered, taking fire yet again in 1930 when a McLean shoots a Harpe. To Serepta McLean, the gunman’s mother, the shooting is a tiresome distraction from her money-making efforts and an irksome reminder of the inadequacies of her two sons. To Colman Harpe, a railroad man with a gift for hearing, the act threatens to upend his determination to stay clear of the feud and to focus on his true vocation: spreading the word of God. Then another tragedy upends Serepta’s life, while Colman’s preaching—and his encounter with the pale-skinned herbalist Ivy Gordon—draws him into McLean territory. When Silence Sings vividly evokes its mountain setting, but its main strength is its complex characters, especially Serepta, a tough-minded, unconventional woman who nonetheless has a streak of sympathy for misfits, outcasts, and the young and helpless.

Colman is sympathetic and likeable, without being too saintly. And while the female character with a knowledge of herbs and a gift for healing is a recurrent one in historical fiction, and a rather tiresome one, Ivy is more interesting than most. With an excellent supporting cast and a fast-moving plot, this novel should be enjoyed by readers of both Christian and secular historical fiction. Susan Higginbotham

AND THEY CALLED IT CAMELOT

Stephanie Marie Thornton, Berkley, 2020, $17.00/C$23.00, pb, 458pp, 9780451490926

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis is the subject of Thornton’s new biographical fiction, and although touching on the politics of the day, she is deeply committed to portraying the woman behind the glamour and scandal. Jackie meets Jack in 1952, marriage and introduction to the Kennedy family following quickly. She is an instant hit with Jack’s father, Joe, particularly when he witnesses the dedication with which she nurses his son through his life-threatening operations, legacies of his WWII heroism. Bobby is a staunch supporter from the outset. Jackie’s biggest achievement as First Lady is the White House renovation – a trend-setter for a new age. A love of the arts and history drives her to save Grand Central Terminal, Abu Simbel, and Lafayette Square. She travels extensively with a Princess-Diana-like feel to the eagerness with which foreign leaders take to her, often putting her husband in shadow. Thornton deals judiciously with male infidelity (beginning before the register ink is dry) and is mindful not to have her readers dismiss Jackie as a docile ‘50s wife with an unfaithful husband. She knows a divorce will destroy Jack’s career, so she chooses to remain a loyal, perfect wife – and she is deeply in love. Family remains a priority – as a couple they are devoted to the children – and Jackie weathers campaigns and media with the utmost grace and elegance, never allowing “baseness to enter her vocabulary.” Grief-stricken by Jack’s death, when Bobby’s follows, she seeks safety with Onassis away from America and its death threats to her children; not a love match. Jackie was beautiful, cultured, and welleducated (spoke three languages; proficient in two more), and the asset to Jack’s career that Joe Kennedy recognised immediately. Thornton captures a celebrity with whom the world mourned in November 1963, but her down-to-earth approach has given us the opportunity for a more intimate and less

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sensational look at Jackie, the wife and mother. Highly recommended. Fiona Alison

DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH

Jen Turano, Bethany House, 2019, $15.99, pb, 349pp, 9780764231681

Poppy Garrison is twenty-two, beautiful, and an heiress. Her grandmother has summoned her from her family’s horse farm to New York City to have a Season. Unfortunately, Poppy is totally unsuited to life among the Four Hundred. For she’s enthusiastic, energetic, generous, goodhearted—and bizarrely accident-prone. Reginald Blackburn, second son of a duke, has accompanied his cousin who possesses a title and lands, but no money; his cousin is seeking an American heiress who has money but no title. Reginald plans to keep a low profile, serving only to help his cousin choose a properly wealthy bride. But then Reginald meets Poppy and Poppy’s managing grandmother, and before you can say “a diamond of the first water,” the long-suffering, brooding Reginald finds himself talked into the task of instructing Poppy in proper Society etiquette. And things gallop along from there, getting almost totally out of the characters’ control in a most charming fashion. Reginald gradually realizes that he loves Poppy – but he rightly feels she’ll be angered at his keeping it a secret that he’s not only rich, but very well-born indeed. The novel isn’t without faults. For one thing, it’s rather shaky on English titles (Reginald Blackburn, second son of a duke, would be “Lord Reginald,” not “Lord Blackburn”). And an over-used phrase “a diamond of the first water” refers to a debutante’s beauty, not her grasp of society etiquette. Still, I give the author points for naming a hero “Reginald”! Despite its flaws, I very much enjoyed this bon-bon of a book. It’s silly and sweet; a delightful romp through Gilded Age New York. Poppy is an endearing character, and her misadventures in Society reminded me of joyously chaotic 1930s screwball comedies. India Edghill

THE KING OF WARSAW

Szczepan Twardoch (trans. Sean Gaspar Bye), AmazonCrossing, 2020, $24.95, hb, 417pp, 9781542044462

Imagine a Polish, Jewish Godfather. Imagine one more brutal, more alien, more complex, eerier, and better written than Mario Puzo’s 1969 blockbuster. Like its gangster antihero, The King of Warsaw seizes you by the throat (or beard) and drags you off to a very bad place. It’s a terrible novel in the root sense of the word: it stands your hair on end. This tough thriller is the first English publication of the Polish writer Szczepan Twardoch (well translated by Sean Gasper Bye), but it won’t be the last. Set in 1937—when Warsaw had a (90 percent doomed) Jewish population larger 50

than any other city in the world except New York—the novel hurls us into a lively criminal world where enforcement is executed by the handsome, charismatic Jakub Szapiro, a champion boxer and professional killer who stands second in line for the criminal throne of Warsaw. Szapiro is tattooed with a doubleedged sword and “death” in Hebrew. The unspeakable horrors of World War II may lie ahead, but this is no book for the fainthearted. Hitler’s shadow looms over ethnic conflict, red Cadillacs, exquisitely tailored suits, pastry oozing rose-hip jelly, deadly weapons, cash, kinky sex, cocaine, vodka, and much blood. Twardoch insists his novel is not about prewar Warsaw but about violence. It’s about both, but it’s about much more as well. It’s about evil. It’s about identity, both personal and national. It’s about doppelgängers, monsters, sperm whales, hapless Jonahs, and the Book of Job. For aesthetic brutality Twardoch has been compared to Cormac McCarthy, but the unputdownable Stieg Larssen is probably closer kin. As is Twardoch’s great fellow Pole and fellow explorer of the heart of darkness, Joseph Conrad. Susan Lowell

HIS MOST ITALIAN CITY

Margaret Walker, Penmore, 2020, $19.50, pb, 560pp, 9781946409942

Trieste is the city in question, but the smaller Adriatic city of Cittanova also figures prominently in this 1928-set historical novel. Mussolini wants to make Italy great again after the winning sides have carved up the former Austro-Hungarian Empire following World War I. Matteo Brazzi, Cittanova’s new mayor and cafe owner, only cares about himself. If it means promoting Fascism and “correcting” the multi-cultural society into seeing themselves as Italian, then why not? But once the town’s favorite son, Giovanni, is abducted aboard a renegade submarine, Matteo realizes he’s up against an old rival in the sub’s captain. The town bonds to solve the disappearance. Florid and darkly comic, His Most Italian City bristles with life. Although the main events take place over a day, the past comes alive with eight years of back narratives featuring doomed love affairs, treachery, vivid family life, political and cultural philosophies and clever children. The captain’s beautiful wife Nataša is pivotal to the back-winding plot. The beating hearts of both cities and the submarine add much to a story reminiscent of the best of Joseph Heller and T. C. Boyle, with the added bonus of wonderful characterizations of women and girls. What an impressive debut! I look forward to more from Margaret Walker. Eileen Charbonneau

FOR LOVE AND COUNTRY

Candace Waters, Howard/Atria, 2020, $16.99/ C$22.99, pb, 320pp, 9781501180613

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Lottie Palmer, daughter of a Detroit

automobile magnate, has tried to be the perfect debutante, but the excesses of her social set make her queasy, especially when she thinks of her countrymen fighting overseas in WWII. Her imminent wedding to the kind, handsome, and wealthy Eugene fails to put a sparkle in her eye. Instead, what brings her joy is the chance to fix the car that breaks down on their way to visit her future in-laws. Lottie has been fascinated by engines since she was a child pestering the family mechanic to show her how to use a wrench. Thus, on the morning of her wedding, Lottie realizes that the life of a society wife is not for her, and she runs away to join the navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). This book is a page-turner. Lottie’s skills and hard work during her training lead her to the post of airplane mechanic at Pearl Harbor after the famous attack (I appreciated the novel’s historical focus on the lesser-known Battle of Iwo Jima rather than the attack on Pearl Harbor). Waters convincingly depicts the difficulties of Lottie’s position as the only woman mechanic in a group of tough men, and the technical details of her work are conveyed in a believable way. A little less believable are Lottie’s angry reactions to the praise and kindness from her instructor, Captain Luke Woodward. While it’s clear enough that her reactions are a form of resisting her attraction to him, her anger seems excessive at times. The dramatic, exciting ending requires some suspension of disbelief, but it’s a fitting showcase for Lottie’s mechanical skills. Recommended. Clarissa Harwood

A MATCH MADE FOR MURDER

Iona Whishaw, Touchwood, 2020, $14.95/ C$16.95, pb, 394pp, 9781771513265

1947: Lane Winslow and her new husband, Inspector Darling, arrive in Tucson, excited to spend their honeymoon in the warmth, sun, and somewhat alien environment of Arizona. Their main focus is each other—and the swimming pool—although they enjoy meeting several other couples staying at the inn, and an old acquaintance of Darling’s who now works for the Tucson police. All that changes when Lane witnesses a shooting at the resort and is drawn into the investigation. That case appears quickly solved, but Darling’s friend, the assistant police chief Gallagher, hides secrets of his own. Back in Canada, Ames and new detective Terrell investigate the mysterious death of a local man, a Lothario who, despite his wife and daughter, preys on high school girls. Ames fears the pretty auto mechanic Tina may be involved. Surely this case has no connection with the happenings in sunny Arizona. Or does it? I’ve enjoyed all the King’s Cove mysteries, and this was no exception. I devoured it in a couple of days. Iona Whishaw paints as vivid a picture of sunny post-war Tucson as she does of cozy, cloudy King’s Cove settling in for the

long winter. The plots, both mysteries and the romantic subplots, intrigue, and Whishaw has a knack for creating wonderful characters and tying seemingly unrelated threads together at the end of each book. That’s certainly the case here. And who knew Darling played tennis? Highly recommended! Susan McDuffie

THE GIRLS FROM GREENWAY

hangers such as “She pulled her Makarov from her shoulder holster, gestured to Tilsner to do the same. The hunt was about to begin”. Or, economically enough “At some stage the tables will turn”. This, without doubt, is a page-turner made engaging thanks to the author’s outstanding descriptive powers and the evocations of his locations in terms of both time and place. A good, lively read. Julia Stoneham

SILVER WINGS, IRON Chelmsford, Essex, in the mid-1960s, is not CROSS

Elizabeth Woodcraft, Zaffre, 2019, £6.99, pb, 416 pp, 9781785767852

the most “happening” of towns. Teenager Angie Smith is bored with her factory job and her “nice” boyfriend. She dreams of a career in fashion and the excitement of London. Boutique-owner Gene Battini is sophisticated (in Angie’s eyes), handsome – and married. He offers her a glimpse of this world she wants, and very quickly, she falls for him – but Gene is an unreliable chancer, who is soon also dating Angie’s older sister, Doreen. The contradictions in Angie’s character I found believable, with her mix of enthusiasm, naivety, and the ambition to further her career; however, I felt that Doreen’s actions did not quite ring true and I only got the full measure of her character towards the end of the story, when we see the force of her conflicting emotions of anger, confusion and loyalty to her sister. This is very much a story of ordinary lives in an everyday setting, with nostalgic period detail an intrinsic part of the narrative – food, music, TV programmes, the novelty of going out for a Chinese meal and the correct clothes you should wear to be a ‘proper’ Mod. It is a gently paced, sometimes repetitive story, perhaps over-reliant on this incidental detail and scene-setting, with the real drama only coming in the last quarter when a series of crises threaten to destroy everything the sisters have striven for. Mary Fisk

STASI WINTER

David Young, Zaffre, 2020, £7.99, pb, 368pp, 9781785765469

Fans of David Young’s Stasi novels will not be disappointed by this one, Stasi Winter – and what a winter it is. The narrative begins quietly when the frozen body of a woman is found in a shopping street and picks up pace as the writer swiftly establishes his familiar style of complex plot and the intricate relationships, both currently and historically, between his characters. Young’s use of both the prevailing climatic conditions and the complex, postwar politics of the late 1970s, are well realised and possibly handled more subtly than are the amorous adventures of his characters. There are aspects in the treatment of the storyline as it approaches its dramatic finale that take it close to being a Boys’ Own adventure story. We find lines such as “it’s when we get into the reactor room that things go wrong”. Many of the chapters end with rather overdone cliff-

Tom Young, Kensington, 2020, C$36.00, hb, 384pp, 9781496730435

$27.00/

Lt. Karl Hagan is about to set out for his 35th and final bombing raid on Bremen in Nazi Germany. One more and he and his crew aboard the Hellstorm join the “lucky bastard club”—the name given to bomber crews who finish all 35 missions and are sent home. Below him, in the frigid waters of the Atlantic, U-351 has survived an attack and is limping home to Bremen. Oberleutenant Wilhelm Albrecht is grateful to be in port until he reads a new directive ordering his submarine to ram the next ship they see. As Karl and the rest of the B-17s fly over Bremen, Wilhelm’s crew bunkers down, and he decides he cannot follow the order and he leaves. With his payload released, Karl turns Hellstrom toward home, but the plane is shot down. The crew bails but are split up. On the ground, Karl encounters Wilhelm, and together, the unlikely duo decides their best chances of survival are to team up. On the run, Karl a potential POW and Wilhelm a deserter, both men face tremendous dangers in rural Germany. But, when they are captured and Karl encourages Wilhelm to pretend to be an American aviator, tensions rise. Young builds the pressure steadily as Karl and Wilhelm face danger after danger. Some plot conveniences feel too perfect—Karl comes from a German family and speaks the language and Wilhelm knows fluent English— but this doesn’t impede the tension and excitement. Scenes in the POW camps are told with deft detail. Pulling from historical events, fans of World War II fiction will find some familiar events played out, but the story still feels fresh and exciting. Bryan Dumas

THE LARK ASCENDING

Sally Zigmond, Conrad Press, 2019, £3.99, ebook, 304pp, B082XCQ9ZH

Alice Fields, assistant in a dreary Leeds draper’s shop, grieves for the loss of her brother, killed in World War I. A richly dressed stranger comes in, ostensibly looking for a hat, but deliberately leaving behind an expensive fur stole. The customer speaks in “tones… so upper-class, they hurt. She pronounced the last word as hets”. Zigmond has a keen ear for language and an accurate eye for period detail, such as the description of the advertisements on the tram Alice takes

to return the stole, and the conductor flipping the seats over in preparation for the return journey. Her encounter with the mysterious woman shapes Alice’s life thereafter, from her meeting with the well-spoken vagrant who has no tram fare, to her stage-managed, lonely marriage, her involvement in a sanctuary for the shellshocked and the help she gives to a mining community during the General Strike. This is also a poignant love story, describing the harm lovers do to each other when they fail to communicate. The Lark Ascending is thoroughly researched and its characters – such as Alice’s selfrighteous and pitiless mother, Michael the idealistic but sometimes volatile conscientious objector, and Eleanor, who rejects her privileged upbringing for writing and activism – are deftly drawn, thanks to Zigmond’s gift for vivid, engaging dialogue. The story is neatly plotted, with all the threads pulled satisfyingly together in the closing pages. My only quibble is some idiosyncratic italicisation, as in “Roundhay Park”, but this novel evokes convincingly the bleak aftermath of a world-changing conflict in the people, the streets and factories of Leeds, at the pit head and in the hopeful and idealistic community of Pear Tree farm. Katherine Mezzacappa

BELLS FOR ELI

Susan Beckham Zurenda, Mercer Univ. Press, 2020, $25.00, hb, 280pp, 9780881467376

Cousins Delia and Eli grow up in a small town in South Carolina during the ´60s and ´70s. The book opens in 1978 when Delia has dropped out of her senior year in college, drowning in emotional pain. Looking back to 1959, Delia narrates the story of what brought her to the point of anguish she now faces. When she and Eli are three years old, he drinks from a coke bottle filled with lye. Through his torturous recovery, the two cousins become very close. This accident leaves permanent internal scarring and pain after his voice is restored and he can eat normally again. The cousins’ world is shaken when a young woman, Francie, arrives to work at his grandmother’s house and they witness a shocking event that opens their eyes to the harshness of the world and impossible choices that adults must face. Eli intuitively feels Francie is somehow linked with his grandmother’s past. He doggedly works to uncover that secret, against Delia’s advice. The love between Delia and Eli grows through the ups and downs of childhood and into their teen years. The good and bad of their high school days are realistically portrayed – dating, dances, friendships, risktaking, drugs. For readers who also grew up in the 1960s and 1970s, the way of life and the references to popular culture give a sense of nostalgia. The motif of bells rings throughout the book. The novel is at turns heartwarming and tragic. It moves from quiet and slowmoving to tension and trepidation. Good

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pacing reveals the events that brought Delia to 1978 and a pivotal point in her life. This novel of an unbreakable bond and genuine love between Delia and Eli is a moving and worthwhile read. Janice Ottersberg

MULTI-PERIOD

THE SPIRIT OF THE DRAGON

William Andrews, Lake Union, 2019, $14.95, pb, 351pp, 9781542004657

The Spirit of the Dragon is the third book in William Andrews’ series depicting Korean women and their fates during the war, but it is not necessary to read them in order, or indeed to have read the other ones at all. The novel weaves together two timelines, one during the 1930s to 1960s, and one in present-day Los Angeles. Anna Carlsson, an international human rights lawyer, assists in an investigation into a murder in a Koreatown nursing home. It’s a personal request from the key suspect, ninetyyear old Suk-Bo Yi, who refuses to tell her story to anyone but Anna. At the request of LAPD, Anna decides to hear Suk-Bo’s story. In 1937, the Japanese have occupied Korea and Suk-Bo is forced to marry a Japanese man, Hisashi. Against all odds, including cultural differences, prejudices, war, and destitution, the two fall in love. And then one day, Hisashi disappears. Suk-Bo sets out to find him, and what she learns is almost unbearable. This is well-written historical fiction that steams along admirably. As Suk-Bo’s story unfolds, the reader gains an insight into the little-known history of Dr. Ishii and Unit 731, a Japanese equivalent to Dr. Mengele and his experiments. The author skillfully shows how bigotry against Koreans and Japanese has had a profound impact on individuals’ lives, even in present-day Los Angeles. The connection to Anna Carlsson adds a satisfying twist to the ending of the story. Highly recommended. Helen Piper

THE BINDER OF LOST STORIES

Cristina Caboni (trans. Patricia Hampton), AmazonCrossing, 2020, $14.95, pb, 269pp, 9781542000147

In Rome, Sofia is unhappy in her childless five-year marriage to Alberto, a businessman. She misses her former life as a librarian, her art, and her antique books, which she’d abandoned at Alberto’s behest. Sofia stumbles into a reopened bookstore and selects a tattered 1816 first edition of Discourse on Nature, the first volume of a series by Christian Fohr, whose philosophical writings she admires. Sofia also decides to resurrect her skills and restore the book. However, during the book’s rebinding process, she discovers a letter hidden in a secret pocket in the endpapers. The missive is by Clarice, who had something dreadful happen to her. It seems Clarice, not 52

trusting her contemporaries, intended her woeful story to be found by a bookbinder like herself. However, it’s just the first part of Clarice’s story. The remaining portions are in the other volumes of Fohr’s work. Sofia, with the assistance of handsome Tomaso, embarks on a quest for those volumes. Cristina Caboni has penned a unique and engaging historical novel, wherein the past unfolds in letters and notes hidden in volumes of antique books. The story provides an enjoyable descriptive tour of Rome’s attractions and armchair travel to other European cities. Although the several secondary storylines add depth to the plot, the excessive use of coincidence requires some suspension of disbelief. While the troublesome life of a 19th-century lady is pieced together by a 21st-century woman, the similarities of their marital problems and unhappy lives are woven into the plot. Their love for books and bookbinding, and their longing to discover themselves, is artfully narrated. Sofia’s singleminded determination in uncovering Clarice’s story is remarkable. The use of dual periods and the analysis of clues to locate the volumes adds mystery and intrigue, which enhance the appeal of the story. Waheed Rabbani

BIG LIES IN A SMALL TOWN Diane

Chamberlain,

St.

Martin’s, 2020, $27.99/C$37.99, hb, 392pp, 9781250087331

In 2018, North Carolina inmate Morgan Christopher receives an unexpected offer: The late African American artist Jesse Jameson Williams has made a provision in his will for her to restore a mural from 1940. She’ll get released from prison and be given a $50,000 fee, but she has two months to finish the work—and in college, Morgan studied art, not art restoration. Nonetheless, freedom is too tempting, especially as she took the fall for her law-school bound boyfriend in a drunk-driving case. Chamberlain alternates Morgan’s story with that of Anna Dale, the artist chosen in 1940 to paint a government-sponsored mural in Edenton, North Carolina. Anna is from New Jersey and recently lost her manic-depressive mother to suicide. Further, she is naturally met with suspicion and resentment in Edenton, especially from their hometown artist. Morgan’s discoveries about Anna’s canvas are artfully interspersed with Anna’s experiences in Edenton that led to the condition the mural is in now. It’s not a spoiler to say that one of Anna’s high school helpers

REVIEWS | Issue 92, May 2020

is the teenage Jesse Jameson Williams, and people in town frown on her contact with a young African American man. Chamberlain has written a book that I could not put down. Contrasting Anna’s increasingly unsettling tale with Morgan’s increasingly hopeful one propels the narrative. Morgan’s post-prison life isn’t rosy, but she finds purpose in restoring the canvas and making better choices than the one that brought about her incarceration. The characters are fully formed, imperfect, and interesting; Jesse’s daughter, Lisa, is especially poignant. With books I love, I sometimes feel inadequate to the challenge of articulating how wonderful they are. On behalf of Morgan’s and Anna’s stories, read this book! Ellen Keith

THE FORBIDDEN PROMISE

Lorna Cook, Avon, 2020, £7.99, pb, 344pp, 9780008321888

August 1940: escaping from a distressing incident at her 21st birthday party at Invermoray House, Constance is the sole witness when a Spitfire crashes in the nearby loch. She rescues the pilot, but when he asks her to keep his whereabouts a secret, she makes a promise that could cost her dearly… August 2020: needing a fresh start after nearly ruining her career, Kate accepts a job promoting Invermoray House as a luxury B&B. But she discovers that the job description is inaccurate; her employer Liz’s son James is less than pleased to see her; and some mystery hangs over the previous owners of the house. Particularly intriguing is the fact that Constance’s name has been violently excised from the family Bible. Discovering what happened to her could just be the story to put Invermoray on the map – if only James would cooperate… This is an engaging twin-narrative novel in which both strands of the story work well. Timeshifts are clearly marked, and the parallels between the two eras are subtle. I enjoyed the vivid descriptions of the landscape and the Scottish weather, and there’s a plot twist near the end I didn’t see coming, but which makes sense of earlier events. I admit I warmed slightly more to the present-day characters than to the historical ones, because they are fractionally more fully developed. There’s one crucial scene towards the end of the book that feels a tiny bit rushed and underdeveloped, as if the author was afraid of overstepping her word count, so it didn’t quite have the devastating impact it should have had. But on the whole, I enjoyed this book very much and intend to look out for Cook’s awardwinning first novel The Forgotten Village and anything else she writes in the future. Jasmina Svenne

ECHOES OF THE RUNES

Christina Courtenay, Headline Review, 2020, £9.99, pb, 362pp, 9781472268266

Christina Courtenay is an award-winning

writer of historical romance, and Echoes of the Runes is her first book with Headline. Historian Mia Maddox has just inherited her grandmother’s summer cottage in the Swedish countryside. Mia has spent every summer of her childhood there and finds it hard to let go, especially when there is to be an archaeological dig on her land. She is a curator at the British Museum and insists on being involved in the dig, bringing her into conflict with archaeologist Haakon Berger. However, they both become drawn to the history of the site and find their dreams invaded by the story of Ceri, a Welsh noblewoman, and a Viking warrior, Haukr. Courtenay’s writing brings the past vividly to life, using dual-period narrative to brilliant effect. The two love stories are compelling, well-paced and filled with drama. The detail of everyday life in medieval Wales and Sweden is excellent but never overpowers the storytelling, and the characters in both eras are extremely well drawn. The intrigue, secrets, treachery and action will appeal to fans of historical mystery and adventure who would not normally read romance, and I look forward to reading more from this author. Lisa Redmond

LOVE LOST IN TIME

Cathie Dunn, Ocelot Press, 2019, $9.99, pb, 274pp, 9781706469513

France, 2018. Madeleine had hoped her mother would leave answers—like the name of her father. Instead, she’s saddled with her mother’s outdated house, which Maddie must live in for one year before it can be sold. In the midst of renovations, bones are discovered under the kitchen tiles along with a mysterious voice that seems to speak from beyond the grave. Who was this woman, and why did she suffer such a tragic end? Septimania, AD 777. Nanthild travels to Carcassonne to be married to Count Bellon. She hides a secret, her devotion to the goddess and her skills as a wisewoman, beliefs that could get her killed. Can she find happiness with a man she barely knows while keeping such a devastating secret? Dunn alternates chapters between present and the past, and alternates between Nanthild and Bellon. In this way, readers can follow the armies of Charlemagne with Bellon while also tending the wounded after the battles with Nanthild. The dangers and tension of Nanthild’s time are well researched, and despite some dire circumstances, descriptions never become explicit or graphic. Meanwhile, Maddie is trying to sort out her life in the wake of her mother’s death, reorganizing work demands to meet the conditions of her mother’s will. The narrative is ripe with emotions as two independent women are pulled in unexpected directions. They’ll wrestle with sacrifice and trust in their respective new environments. Dunn interweaves these stories at just the right moments. Both landscapes are beautifully penned for readers to easily get lost in. Additionally, the storylines are

engaging, and each helped bring a satisfying conclusion to the other. An enjoyable tale about love, sacrifice, and self-discovery. Recommended.

J. Lynn Else

THE WOMAN IN THE MIRROR

Rebecca James, Minotaur, 2020, $26.99/ C$36.50, hb, 368pp, 9781250230058

In 1947 Cornwall, Alice Miller accepts a post as governess to the two motherless children of Captain de Grey at Winterbourne, a remote mansion by the sea. In present-day New York, art gallery curator Rachel Wright receives a surprising letter informing her that she is a descendant of the de Greys and heir to Winterbourne. When she goes to Cornwall to visit the house and learn more about her ancestors, she finds a treasure trove of secrets and mysteries. There are diaries, letters, and objects that seem to have supernatural powers (a mirror, a painting, doors that lock and unlock without human agency). Rachel is especially fascinated by the mysteries surrounding the fate of Captain de Grey’s wife and the two consecutive governesses, including Alice Miller. James is skilled at creating the dark, creepy atmosphere necessary for this subgenre, and some of the mysteries unfold with just the right amount of suspense. However, the references to classics of gothic literature such as The Turn of the Screw, Rebecca, “The Yellow Wall-Paper,” and even The Phantom of the Opera are unsubtle and distracting. I also found the protagonists’ motivations baffling and obscure. Alice in particular seems so insane early in the story that it’s difficult to sympathize with her or even understand why she acts as she does. Anachronisms abound as well: in the 1947 timeline, Alice thinks of the governess position in modern terms as “too niche,” whereas her male interviewer sounds like a Victorian ingénue when he says “You might deem me improper.” While this novel might satisfy readers new to gothic fiction, others would be better off reading one of the classics it references. Clarissa Harwood

THE GRACE KELLY DRESS

Brenda Janowitz, Graydon House, 2020, $16.99, pb, 336pp, 9781525804595

The Grace Kelly Dress tells the story of three women connected through the generations by a Grace Kelly-inspired wedding dress. In 1958 Paris, Rose is a young woman who has no family left and works for a famous designer’s atelier. There, she eventually designs a beautiful wedding dress for a wealthy bride who wants her own version of Grace Kelly’s wedding dress. Rose falls in love with the bride’s brother. In 1980s New York City, Joanie, a college student, has recently gotten engaged but her happiness is marred by her older sister’s recent death. Finally, in 2020, Joanie’s daughter Rocky is an app

designer who is about to get married. Joanie wants Rocky to wear her wedding dress, which was also worn by Joanie’s mother, but Rocky doesn’t want to. Rose’s, Joanie’s, and Rocky’s stories are connected by the dress, and family drama abounds. The title gives the impression that this book is about Grace Kelly and her wedding dress. However, Janowitz’s book should instead be titled “The Grace Kelly Knock-Off Dress,” since this is the focus. Grace Kelly is not a character, and readers will not learn much new about the iconic actress and princess. Also, this book is marketed as a historical novel, but it should be classified as chick lit or women’s fiction as readers will not learn much more about the 1950s or the 1980s. However, despite my misconceptions about this novel, I enjoyed it for what it was: a light, easy, beach or vacation read that is full of romance and family secrets. Fans of Jane Green and Emily Giffin will especially love this book. Julia C. Fischer

THE ALEXANDRITE

Dione Jones, Cloud Ink, 2019, $19.00, pb, 328pp, 9780473483302

Dione Jones offers an intriguing glimpse into the lives of the British aristocracy in the early 1900s and the present-day in her debut novel. When a professor from New Zealand is found dead outside the Scawton family estate, everyone is flabbergasted. In the course of the investigation, they find a stranger carrying a rare gemstone and a cryptic letter for the Scawton family. When the police struggle to find further clues, Lady Scawton takes matters into her own hands. Her discoveries take her as far as New Zealand, where she uncovers family secrets dating back to the First World War. The Alexandrite is a gripping story of class, family, and how trauma can affect many generations. It touches on emotional themes such as unwanted pregnancies, adoption, and financial troubles. Jones has a created an interesting cast of characters and her vivid storytelling made me care for all of them, although young Lord Scawton made that challenging at times. This novel is a fascinating account of how the rigidity of the British class system and keeping “a stiff upper lip” can have devastating effects on families. I truly recommend this read. Helen Piper

THE KEEPING HOUSE

Meredith Kazer, Soul Mate, 2020, $14.99/ C$20.65/£17.99, pb, 258pp, 9781647160111

In 1997, New Haven, Connecticut, young Lauren is in financial difficulties. Her deceased husband has left her with considerable debt. Hence, Lauren and her mother downsize and purchase a dilapidated century-old Victorian mansion. Lauren has eerie feelings about the house and its previous owners. She hires a handsome handyman to fix the property, particularly the dislodged steps into the

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strange basement. The renovation uncovers a secret that impacts their lives. Charles and Sarah built the mansion in 1890. Sarah is from a prosperous family and accompanies her father on trips to New York. Although Charles and Sarah have a son and a daughter, they cannot get along. Charles dies when his boat capsizes during a hurricane, and his son disappears. This novel, although presented as a mysteryromance, involves some elements of horror. The mystery aspects of the disappearance of a young boy and the romance’s presentation in a nonlinear narrative add, to some extent, intrigue into the plot. Descriptions of contemporary Connecticut life and in the 1800s are presented vividly. However, the addition of incest, abortion, premarital sex, and kidnapping into the storyline, which seem to have been included to enhance the appeal of the story, may disappoint some readers. Waheed Rabbani

THE BOOK OF SCIENCE AND ANTIQUITIES

Thomas Keneally, Atria, 2020, $28.00/C$37.00, hb, 289pp, 9781982121037 / Sceptre, 2019, £20.00, hb, 226pp, 9781529355215

Award-winning documentary filmmaker Shelby Apple is approaching the end of his days after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2015. As he contemplates his life, he comes to dwell on his collaboration with paleontologist Peter Jorgensen, the discovery of the remains of 42,000-year-old Australian Aboriginal Learned Man, and the two men’s quest to return the remains to their original burial site rather than house them in a museum display case. Learned Man himself observes his own life as he and his clan trek across shallow marshes to the site of the wrestling matches that presage the cold season, track a member of their hunting tribe who violated a woman from the forbidden Earless Lizard clan, and sacrifice to cure the curse that threatens the clan’s livelihood. The Book of Science and Antiquities is the 34th novel written by Keneally, author of bestsellers The Daughters of Mars and Schindler’s List. A resident of Sydney, Australia, Keneally is sensitive to the heritage of the teller of tales. He begs forgiveness and understanding from Aboriginal writers for, as he writes in the beginning Author’s Note, being a white man who horned in on telling an Aboriginal tale. His objective, he notes, is to illustrate how Paleolithic ancestors speak to all of us, black and white. To that end, paleontologist Jorgensen stresses how articulate people of Learned’s time were. “None…was done by a pack of wellmeaning primates with howls and groans. They could talk all right,” he says. Yet the language attributed to Learned and his clan is sometimes arch and pedantic, distracting from the universality of the message. Documentarian Apple’s actions pay homage to the Aboriginal past; Learned’s words too often obstruct. K.M. Sandrick

A PLACE IN THE WORLD

Amy Maroney, Artelan Press, 2019, $18.99, pb, 456pp, 9780997521375

In this third in the Miramonde series, set in 1505, grieving the loss of a daughter, Miramonde de Oto and her husband Arnaud move to Bayonne, France, where Arnaud hopes to establish an export business and Mira hopes to return to painting after the birth of their son. The 16th-century story also includes the adventures of Mira’s aunt Elena and Mira’s painting mentor, Sebastian de Scolna, along with wealthy wool merchant Amadina Sacazar, pursuing the married pair for nefarious purposes. In 2016, independent scholar Zari Durrell combs Europe examining 16th-century portraiture and building a relationship with lover Wil. While Mira waits anxiously for Arnaud, who sets out to procure oak from the village of Ronzal, Zari, in intertwined chapters, visits galleries, villages, and homes trying to find traces of Mira’s work. Maroney’s prose is clean and engaging, full of expressive details of background, weather, setting, and dress that anchor the characters in a solid sense of place and make up for the quiet plot. There is some small suspense, but Zari’s discoveries in the present day outline the main events of Mira’s life in advance, and the alternating chapters don’t seem deeply intertwined. The interest of the book lies in its depiction of varied settings, from medieval Aragonese castles, rustic Basque country, and 16th-century Gascony to the modernday outlines of Belgium and London, and in its portrayal of the European art world in the Renaissance and now. As many relationships in this book rely on previous events—tensions between Mira and her twin, for example; Zari’s accomplices and enemies in the art history world; and the murky motives driving Amadina’s vengeful pursuit— the reader is advised to read the series in order to appreciate fully the conclusion of both Zari and Mira’s quests. Misty Urban

THE LAST BATHING BEAUTY

Amy Sue Nathan, Lake Union, 2020, $14.95, pb, 312pp, 9781542007085

In the same way that Rosamunde Pilcher’s books often bring to life different generations of women meeting and surmounting challenges, Amy Sue Nathan’s story of love and mishap in “the Catskills of the Midwest”—that is, 1950s South Haven, Michigan—pulls at your heart with its dual narratives of young and seasoned love affairs. It’s the story of Betty Stern’s last summer at her grandparents’ lakeside resort in 1951 before heading to college in New York City. She’s breaking tradition, since in those days what she really should have been doing was finding a nice boy to marry—and he’s right there, in love with her, despite her not feeling the same way about him. Fast-forward to the present day, and Betty’s granddaughter,

REVIEWS | Issue 92, May 2020

Hannah, is in the oldest kind of “trouble” that a young woman can find herself in. It’s a different era, and yet Hannah’s choices seem achingly familiar to her grandmother. As an extra, Betty’s two longtime friends are also part of the story. Their presence gives an added layer of meaning. This tender summer read is a love story with just enough social commentary to make it insightful. It’s also got just enough wisdom to make it memorable. As I read this novel, I fell out of the story now and then, measuring my own life against Betty’s and Hannah’s. I suppose that’s a knock on the storytelling, but it added to the book’s appeal for me. Kristen Hannum

THE SECRET MESSENGER

Mandy Robotham, Avon, 2020, £7.99/$16.99, pb, 384pp, 9780008324261

Venice, 1943: Stella Jilani is leading a double life, working as a typist in the Reich Office, but smuggling out information for the Italian Resistance and using her old typewriter to produce an underground newspaper. Her life becomes even more complicated when she crosses paths with two very different men – the cultured, enigmatic Cristian De Luca, her immediate superior at work, and friendly Jack (Giovanni), an injured British-Italian parachutist, who needs her help. London 2017: grieving after the death of her distant mother, Luisa Belmont stumbles on an old typewriter and a box of mementoes belonging to her grandmother Stella. Determined to connect with her Venetian heritage, Luisa begins an obsessive quest, even at the risk of her relationship with her actor husband Jamie. The most effective part of Robotham’s second novel is the build-up of tension, particularly in the second half of the book. Since we are introduced to Stella’s family – her frail mother, stoical father and reckless younger brother Vito – it’s easy to see what’s at stake if Stella is caught out. The only bit I never quite believed was the “betrayal” that the blurb makes so much of. Luisa’s subplot is far less effective. In fact, I question whether the book wouldn’t be more powerful without it, since her character is less well-developed; her investigations rarely uncover anything the reader doesn’t already know; and Luisa’s difficult relationship with her mother Sofia turns out to be unrelated to the main plot. There are one or two odd word choices – e.g. “resolve” for “resolution” – and the phrase “in my midst” appears twice when she really means “in my wake” or “in my presence”. Cristian De Luca lacks the brooding sexiness of Richwalder in Pam Jenoff’s The Kommandant’s Girl, but this book should appeal to fans of that novel. Jasmina Svenne

THE EVERLASTING

Katy Simpson Smith, Harper, 2020, $27.99, hb, 352pp, 9780062873644

Andiamo a Roma! We’ll visit the Eternal City four times in Katy Simpson Smith’s brilliant new novel The Everlasting, set in Rome in the years 2015, 1559, 886, and 165. Pack your conversational Italian, a little Latin, some historical maps, and plenty of curiosity. Leave your squeamishness behind: true history’s not for sissies. Prepare to learn new words (ostracod, putridarium) in this deeply researched examination of the everlasting weirdness of love and religion. Prepare, also, to be dazzled by Smith’s virtuosity. Each trip immerses us in a mystery in a fully imagined world seen through the eyes of two aging men and two vital young women. And yet Smith cleverly hooks them all together. The Aventine (southernmost of Rome’s seven hills) provides unity of place, and the early Christian martyr St. Prisca serves as one of several unifying themes. Many tinier connections make this novel worthy of the highest honor: rereading. Rome stands on its own past, like Santa Prisca’s little Aventine church built atop a temple to the god Mithras, atop a classical villa. Like an archaeological dig, The Everlasting delves into relics of the everlasting past. Some characters are based on historical figures, like Giulia de’ Medici and Prisca. Smith’s imagination enlivens them—though the real Giulia, depicted as a dismal, shapeless widow in her lone existing portrait, might not recognize her sexy fictional self. Smith’s glorious prose is occasionally dissonant: would these characters really use words like monetize, self-absorbed, and squirrelly? Well, maybe. Once I shepherded twelve rambunctious middle-schoolers down a modern Roman street … straight toward several Italian military guards armed with jackhammer-sized automatic weapons. “Don’t you get squirrelly now!” I hissed. If only—if only—some jumpy chaperone had restrained young Prisca! Susan Lowell

KEEP SAYING THEIR NAMES

Simon Stranger (trans. Matt Bagguley), Knopf, 2020, $28.95/C$38.95, hb, 304pp, 9780525657361

H for Hirsch, H for hope, H for Henry Oliver Rinnan. Simon Stranger’s awardwinning historical novel weaves an achingly poignant tale of a man, his family, and the Norwegian occupation of 1940-45. Kneeling next to the Stolperstein bearing the name of Hirsch Komissar, Stranger explains to his son, Komissar’s great-great-grandson, that there are two recognized deaths in Jewish tradition: when the body itself dies, and the last time their name is read, thought, or said. Keep Saying Their Names takes readers on a

haunting walk through the alphabet, moving between what is known and what cannot be; from the childhood and career development of Norwegian double-agent Rinnan to Komissar’s experiences at Falstad, and then to the aftermath of the occupation and the lives of Hirsch’s children and grandchildren. Stranger’s approach gently guides readers through a range of emotions, from grief to rage, disappointment, honest acceptance, and deep reflection. Each thread of the story moves at a different pace and is entwined with the others in a non-traditional layout. I had no difficulty following the format or becoming emotionally invested, and in fact I found the format was conducive to the transitions and my understanding. Having something so sheerly normal as the alphabet in context of the terms and stories listed provided an intricate contrast that lends strength to the impact of Stranger’s family story. This novel, translated well from its original Norwegian, is highly recommended to those who are interested in learning more about the Norwegian occupation and life in Scandinavia before, during, and after World War II. Anna Bennett

SCULPTING THE ELEPHANT

Sylvia Vetta, Claret Press, 2019, £11.18/$12.45, pb, 268pp, 9781910461334

It is 1997. Harry King lives in Oxford, deals in antiques and collectables, specialising in Art Deco. When he visits Charles Carew, who wishes to sell two magnificent Art Deco vases, Harry knows he must buy them. But there’s a snag; to do so, he must also accept a huge Victorian chest of drawers, belonging to Charles’s grandfather, Bartholomew Carew. Harry takes the chest with great reluctance. So begins a fascinating but complex novel of adventure, the clash of cultures, the Indian Raj and the man who was responsible for the spread of Buddhism. Add to that the passionate love affair between Harry and Rammi Gupta, a beautiful Indian DPhil student at Oxford University. The richly diverse novel alternates between Oxford and India in 1997 and the travels of Benjamin Carew in 1868. There are three viewpoints: those of Harry and Rammi both in Oxford, and in modern India, plus Bartholomew’s diary. The novel would have completely captivated me if it had not had too much crammed between its covers. The two alternating narratives (1997 and the 1860s) are too much alike in narrative tone. Rammi speaks like the DPhil thesis she is working on, even when eating breakfast or lying in bed, and I couldn’t see why Harry was so entranced with her, apart from her beauty and style. This is a modern cross-cultural love affair with strong elements of myth. Finally, the novel’s intriguing title is the words of an Indian sculptor as he creates an elephant out of rock. He said to Harry that his work involved “cutting out all that isn’t

elephant.” In my opinion, the author would have created a page-turning historical novel if she’d concentrated on “cutting out all that isn’t novel.” Worth a look. Sally Zigmond

ECHOES AMONG THE STONES

Jaime Jo Wright, Bethany House, 2020, $15.99, pb, 374pp, 9780764233883

In 1946 Wisconsin, Imogene (Genie) Grayson discovers her sister, Hazel, brutally murdered. Genie becomes obsessed with finding the murderer. Both of Genie’s suitors, Sam and Ollie, try to discourage her obsession, but Genie goes so far as to recreate the crime scene using Hazel’s old dollhouse replica of their Mill Creek farmhouse. When other seemingly unconnected events occur in town, including an explosion at the post office and arson at the town hall, Genie begins to realize sweet, innocent Hazel might have been keeping secrets. In present time, Aggie Dunkirk returns home to help her aged grandmother, Mumsie. Aggie, down on her luck, takes a lowly secretary job at the local cemetery. A flood has dislodged many graves, and Aggie is hired to sift through the mountains of paperwork to re-identify graves and their occupants. There, she meets Collin, an archaeologist also hired to help with the great cemetery project. When a skeleton is found in Mumsie’s yard, and threats are made, Aggie begins to wonder what is going on in Mill Creek. Are these events related to the mysterious corpse they find buried in the cemetery, but not in a coffin? And why does Mumsie have a dollhouse with a morbid crime scene hidden away in a back bedroom? Aggie, with Collin’s assistance, begins to dig into Mumsie’s past, and what she discovers is haunting, thrilling, and deeply mysterious. Jaime Jo Wright has written a unique mystery with lifelike characters and a complex plot. I was hooked from the start. Genie’s story is poignant and sad. Aggie’s drive to find the truth intrigues. The budding romance between Aggie and Collin adds a nice touch of happiness to a slightly dark tale. The two stories intertwine well; past and present coming together in a memorable, thrilling conclusion. Highly recommended. Rebecca Cochran

TIMESLIP

THE FORGOTTEN SISTER

Nicola Cornick, HQ, 2020, £7.99, pb, 368pp, 9780008278496

The Forgotten Sister is a timeslip novel, based in Tudor England and the present day. In the 16th century Amy Robsart is married to Robert Dudley, a favourite of Queen Elizabeth, but she is increasingly unhappy and resorts to desperate measures to secure her future. In the present day, Lizzie, a television personality, finds herself embroiled in a scandal involving

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her best friend Dudley and a suspicious death. The two stories are linked by a mysterious supernatural connection to the past, shared by Lizzie and Johnny, a young man whom she befriends. I have to confess that I found the presentday story contrived in its parallels, particularly with respect to the names (just about every character in the present day is named for their Tudor equivalent). The supernatural element is not entirely convincing and, although the storylines are individually compelling, it was not until the end that I felt a real connection between them. Additionally, I would have liked the character of Avery, an enigmatic older woman who helps Lizzie, to have been more fully developed. However, I enjoyed reading about the historical mystery that surrounded Amy Robsart – an episode that I was not previously familiar with – and I was hoping for things to come right for Lizzie in the present day. Whatever its faults, this book is a real pageturner. Karen Warren

NEANDER

Harald Johnson, Independently published, 2019, $12.95, pb, 289pp, 9781710999105

Tom Cook, a journalist for Science Alive, is on assignment in Gibraltar photographing an excavation and writing about the discovery of a Neanderthal fossil. While he works, his pregnant girlfriend, Carolyn, takes a tour on a whale watching boat. Tom plans to ask Carolyn to marry him at dinner. Tom is stunned when a gold ring with a diamond is discovered on the small finger of the fossil hand. It is the exact ring he is carrying in his pocket. How does this modern ring belong on the finger of a 40,000-yearold hand? As Tom ponders this question, the boat that Carolyn is on explodes in the sea below the excavation cave. Through a series of illegal dives, Tom tries to find Carolyn’s body among those trapped in the sunken wreckage of the boat. Without Carolyn and the baby, Tom loses his dream of a family. During one dive, Tom is propelled through a time warp underwater and surfaces in another world and another time. When he is attacked by dogs and rescued by a Neanderthal man, his adventure begins. The Neanderthals are not what he expected, and as they struggle to learn each other’s language, Tom develops a new appreciation for these prehistoric people. He uses his modern expertise to show them new skills, yet he wonders about his effect on history. In the end, he is caught between returning to his own world and staying with his Paleolithic family. This is a well written, compelling, and believable story of a man thrust into a world thousands of years before his own. The characters Tom meets are realistic and sympathetic. I became so interested in the Neanderthals that I wanted to learn more about them. This is one of those books I didn’t want to end. Susie Pruett

A CROWN IN TIME

Jennifer Macaire, Headline, 2020, £9.99, pb, 243pp, 9781786157768

Time travellers abound in historical fiction

for children and young adults but appear less often in HF for more mature readers. Most authors of adult HF are uncomfortable in mixing authenticity and fantasy. Attracted to the wonder and difference of the past, they seek to see it through the eyes of contemporaries who find it unremarkable. Jennifer Macaire is quite comfortable in mixing authenticity and fantasy. She even manages to make the act of time travel seem authentic: a nasty and dangerous experience like a major operation, with unpleasant aftereffects. Isobel, the narrator of A Crown in Time, is a convicted criminal from the Third Millennium who is sent back to 13th-century France on a suicide mission, suicidal in the sense that she can never return to her own era. Like the heroine of any historical novel, she is free to do as she likes except transgress recorded history. If she does she is ‘erased’. Her mission is to correct a transgression made by a previous time traveller. Macaire is scrupulously authentic when describing life in 13th-century France and the awfulness of the 8th Crusade, in which Isobel participates. We not only see life as the contemporaries see it, but through Isobel we see what they take for granted. Yet this is more than just a peep into the past, it is a strong story of love and loss, adventure and suffering and ultimate redemption. Isobel is no ordinary time traveller because she knows she is never going back to the future and she has to make her future in the past. Edward James

ALTERNATE HISTORY SHADOWS OF ANNIHILATION

S. M. Stirling, Ace, 2020, $17.00/C$23.00, pb, 400pp, 9780399586279

In an alternate 1917, America, led by President Teddy Roosevelt, has taken over Mexico as a protectorate. Germany controls Europe and Russia. Paris lies in ruins, and German gas attacks have reached the shores of the United States. Luz O’Malley and Ciara Whelan, American Black Chamber operatives, travel deep into Mexico on a mission to protect the Dakota Project, a secret site outside of Zacatecas, where America works on its own supply of deadly Annihilation Gas. They are aided by Luz’s old lover, Julie Durán, along with Julie’s secretary Henrietta Colmer, who thirsts for revenge of her own. Meanwhile Luz’s old enemy, Horst von Dückler, arrives in Mexico on a mission of sabotage, spiced with a personal vendetta. S.M. Stirling builds a compelling, heartpounding vision of an alternate WWI, a world fundamentally different from the records of our history. Vivid descriptions enable the reader to fully inhabit this alternate reality, seeing and smelling the dusty and newly electrified streets of the Protectorate of Mexico, but that does not slow down the fast-paced plot. Luz and Ciara, as well as their cronies, are welldeveloped characters, good shots, and skilled agents, but Stirling also gifts his equally adept villains with fully developed personalities and motives. An engaging and engrossing read, this novel is recommended for readers who like lots of action, intriguing settings, and thrilling

REVIEWS | Issue 92, May 2020

heroics, set against a believable alternate history. Recommended. Susan McDuffie

HISTORICAL FANTASY ALCHEMY OF GLASS

Barbara Barnett, Pyr, 2020, $17.00, pb, 376pp, 9781645060130

In 1893, walking along the Lake Michigan shoreline outside Chicago, Gaelan Erceldoune, apothecary and glass maker, runs into a stranger named Nicola Tesla. An interesting conversation ensues. This multi-period novel jumps back and forth in time and at some points extends into a possible future. Gaelan, it seems, is immortal… or maybe not. The most interesting sequences take place in London in 1826, where Gaelan is desperately seeking to find a cure for a deadly disease not seen for hundreds of years and now on the verge of devastating the country once more. He is aided by a young noblewoman who he has saved from a botched abortion and by a medical doctor who doesn’t quite share his profession’s disdain for apothecaries who are considered frauds. Gaelan must travel to a mysterious venue in Scotland to find a remedy. Meanwhile, in the present day outside Chicago, an acquaintance of Gaelan, Dr. Anne Shaw, tries to tie up strings left by Gaelan who she believes died in Scotland just weeks earlier. Ultimately Gaelan and Dr. Shaw re-unite to try to save the entire world from a catastrophe which may arise because of their own actions. Though billed as a fantasy of Celtic mythology and fairy lore, I found this novel to be much more of a well-researched science-infused mystery leveraging modern technology, medieval and modern medicine, and fascinating, well-chosen periods of history. Ironically, this is a quite good book where I found the protagonists unlikeable, especially Anne Shaw. Their unnecessary overuse of the F-word seems just odd. Yet the historical characters – Arthur Conan Doyle, Tesla, and Thomas the Rhymer – are remarkably engaging. Expecting a trite and fashionable socially relevant ending, I was completely surprised and pleased to be wrong. I gladly recommend this intelligent book. Thomas J. Howley

SIN EATER

Megan Campisi, Atria, 2020, $27.00/C$36.00, hb, 282pp, 9781982124106 / Mantle, £14.99, hb, 368pp, 9781529019063

An act of petty thievery changes the course of May Owens’ life in this richly imagined tale set in the late 16th century. Tossed in jail for stealing bread, the young laundress awaits a sentencing that is delayed by several days. Ultimately her life is spared—but it is changed irrevocably. An “s” is brutally tattooed on her tongue, and a brass collar is shackled around her neck. May must now navigate the restrictive and lonely life of a sin eater. Unable to be touched or spoken to, May is tasked with listening to the confessions of the dying then eating symbolic foods representative of those sins, thus absolving the dying and bearing the burden of their guilt as her own. Such a dire punishment is predictably grim, but Campisi’s humor and deft characterization

successfully imbue the young sin eater with the necessary cunning and vulnerability to persevere. She finds succor at the home of a practiced sin eater, learning the ritual and expectations of her new vocation. When they are called to the Queen’s palace to eat the sins of the royal governess, a deer heart appears in the offering, representing a sin to which the woman did not confess. The experienced sin eater refuses to eat the heart and is taken to prison and tortured to death. Young May vows to avenge her peer’s cruel treatment, but first she must find out who placed the deer heart on the governess’s coffin, and why. Set within a thinly disguised backdrop of Tudor London, Campisi eschews strict historical fact and instead capitalizes on the time’s obsession with sin and the afterlife to build a world that feels fresh yet true to the conventions and beliefs of the time. A hugely enjoyable read. Mary Lawrence

THE FACELESS OLD WOMAN WHO SECRETLY LIVES IN YOUR HOME

Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, Harper Perennial, 2020, $21.99, hb, 370pp, 9780062889003

This multi-genre novel opens in Night Vale, a fictional town in the American Southwest where ghosts, angels, and specters dwell. In 2011 an old specter inhabits the small apartment of Craig, a young bachelor and low-level copy editor at a car dealership. This specter has great powers. She can grab and move objects and travel where she wants. Some humans can hear and talk to her. She sets all of Craig’s shoes on fire and jams glass shards into his car ignition but then also guides him to a good marriage and a satisfying teacher job. The story jumps back in time to 1792, when the specter was a fully human young girl growing up as the only child of a widowed estate owner on the Mediterranean Sea. After an idyllic but short childhood, her father is murdered and the family estate destroyed. The young woman must now find her own way in a hard world. Constantly driven to avenge her father’s murder, she becomes an expert wielder of knives, a clever thief, then smuggler, ship captain and leader of thugs. The dual plots of the old specter’s sinister present-day dealings and her past life of brutal vengeance suddenly merge in a credible ending. Excellent prose (“Memory lives inside the eyelids.”) helps the reader easily accept the contrasting blend of fantasy and reality. The dual main plot lines (deep past and present-day) become page turners on two levels—how each will resolve and how they might connect. Recommended for any fan of historical fantasy or science fiction or even old-fashioned thrillers. G. J. Berger

THE DEEP

Alma Katsu, Putnam, 2020, $27.00, hb, 432pp, 9780525537908 / Bantam, 2020, £16.99, hb, 432pp, 9781787631342

In Alma Katsu’s follow-up to The Hunger (2018), history and the supernatural collide when a young stewardess steps aboard the Titanic only to find herself once again on an

ill-fated ship in wartime 1916, running from a curse she cannot escape. In 1912, Annie Hebbley flees from a scandal in her Northern Ireland town, eager to forget her past and start a new future. Her ticket to a new life is onboard the Titanic, which is brought to life in exquisite detail by Katsu. As passengers stream onboard, Annie meets a wealthy young couple she is drawn to immediately: Mark and Caroline Fletcher, along with their infant daughter, Ondine. As Annie inserts herself into the lives of the couple, the story becomes slow and indulgent in places, with only the tightly told Britannic timeline alleviating the doldrums. An otherworldly disturbing presence appears when a séance onboard the Titanic goes terribly wrong, and several characters (two of whom are distractingly unbelievable) begin feeling stalked by their betrayals, regrets, and secrets. In 1916, Annie is in an asylum dealing with the physical and emotional fallout of the disaster. Taking a job as nurse on the hospital ship Britannic (Titanic’s sister ship), she learns to put her mind together as she cares for wounded soldiers coming back from the Western Front. When she comes across one patient’s familiar face, the horrors of the Titanic return in a rush, bringing home a fatal realization: what stalked the Titanic now stalks the Britannic. Can she solve the mysteries haunting her before another tragedy occurs? The Deep is a creative take on obsession, possession, and loss, but could be told in half the time and with better results. Peggy Kurkowski

CAMELOT

Giles Kristian, Bantam Press, 2020, £12.99, hb, 429pp, 9781787632295

Merlin has not been seen for ten years. Arthur, once the unifying leader of the Britons as they fought the invading Saxons, fell along with Lancelot and his other warriors in their final great battle. Britain has returned to a land in darkness, with the Saxons raiding once more. In the wild marshlands of Avalon, a novice about to take his vows sees his quiet life crashed in brutal fashion and his destiny changed. Iselle, a warrior woman who reads the marshes like the palm of her hand – a hand that kills Saxons with bow, knife or sword – and an old warrior, Gawain, enter the novice’s secluded world. He is Galahad, son of Lancelot, and together they will search for an ancient cauldron and the last druid to try to reunite the kings of Britain who now fight only for their own land. This epic reimagining of the famous Arthurian legend is a masterpiece of storytelling that is totally absorbing and believable. The Dark Isles are brought to life with great skill as detail is slipped into this thrilling, surprising tale of honour, bravery, betrayal, love and heartbreak. The action, from combat to slaughter, despair to hope, is totally gripping, never overworked, never underplayed, their struggle twists and turns as Galahad, reluctantly at first, embraces his legacy. This novel’s standout characters, incredible action scenes and historic period detail presented in an accessible way excite the senses, compelling the reader to continue to the last word of the final page of the book. Valerie Loh

THE AGE OF WITCHES

Louisa Morgan, Redhook, 2020, $28.00, hb, 448p, 9780316419512

In 1692 Massachusetts, Bridget Byshop is hanged as a witch and leaves two daughters who pass very different magical traditions to their descendants in New York City in 1890. Harriet Bishop, a welloff spinster bereaved by her fiancé’s death in the Civil War, uses potions and charms passed down by her grandmother Beryl to ease ailments and help women in distress. Her distant cousin Frances, however, has used the maleficia—a practice of incantations and poppets—to marry rich businessman George Allington and lift herself from a life of poverty. Frances hopes to launch herself into New York’s elite by marrying George’s daughter, Annis, into the English nobility. Young Annis would rather pursue a career in horse breeding than preen on London’s marriage market, and when Frances’s dark spells bend Annis and a young marquis, James, to her will, Harriet crosses the sea to intervene. The resulting battle will awaken Annis to her abilities, test the limits of Frances’s power, and force Harriet to a measure that will haunt her thereafter. The story is enchanting, and Morgan shapes her characters into fully realized people with compelling hopes, poignant histories, and sometimes desperate ambitions. In this book, magic is a world belonging solely to women, a power women use to redress historic inequalities. While both Harriet and Frances have used it to master their men, Annis must decide how she wants to use her emerging skills. The plot is well-structured, progressing from a measured beginning to heartpounding scenes of danger and risk, but the resolution is inflected with the cusp-of-a-newcentury sense of progress and optimism that surfaces throughout as a theme. Morgan’s incantatory prose and independent-minded women will delight fans of Alice Hoffman and Sarah Addison Allen with this tale of female self-realization and magical realism. A highly enjoyable read. Misty Urban

THE GLASS MAGICIAN

Caroline Stevermer, Tor, 2020, $26.99/$36.50, hb, 288pp, 9780765335043

Stevermer builds an intriguing world in her new historical fantasy, set in early 20th century New York. The cream-of-the-crop elites are Traders, the working folk are Solitaires and then there are the reclusive Sylvestri. Traders are born into Trader families and are raised to understand and control their nature until their ‘ordeal’ (to Trade and un-Trade at will or on command). Before that they are not safe as their magic can be stolen by the vicious manticores. Thalia Cutler has always known she’s Solitaire, a pretty-much penniless but talented

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stage magician with a number of daring feats in her portfolio, including the ‘Bullet Catch’. Her assistant is also her mentor/father-figure, who knows all about Thalia’s background but gives little away. When a Houdini-type trick goes awry, Thalia discovers she has accidentally triggered a Trade–the transformation from human form to one’s interconnected animal. But Thalia is Solitaire! When their stage contract is abruptly terminated Thalia agrees, for a fee, to coach Nathaniel Ryker’s sister Nell into not choosing a stage career. Ryker and Nell are Traders, but Nell has not passed her ordeal and her determination to build a stage career must be thwarted by her brother until she is an independent Trader/safe in society. When an ‘accident’ kills the rival magician, Thalia’s assistant is charged with murder and Thalia must prove his innocence. This is also true of Thalia who must learn to control her own Trades. I was intrigued by the elaborate society set-up and the story rolled along with good pacing, clearly well researched, (in as far as one can research magic tricks) with believable characters. Readers interested in otherworldly worlds, magic and mystery will enjoy this novel. Fiona Alison

REMEMBRANCE

Rita Woods, Forge, 2020, $27.99/C$37.99, hb, 416pp, 9781250298454

This unique debut effortlessly blends historical fiction and fantasy in a story about perseverance and loss, mostly set in pre-Civil War times. In 1857, Margot, her sister, and grandmother are house slaves on a plantation in Louisiana. Grandmère is a healer, while Margot has a “supernatural” power to heal by touch. After her long-promised freedom is denied, Margot and her sister attempt to escape, though only Margot makes it out alive. She finds a secret place on the underground path to freedom called Remembrance: The inhabitants, all former slaves, have created a safe sanctuary sealed off from the world. They live in relative peace and harmony under the watchful leadership of Abigail, herself a former slave in Haiti in the late 1790s, who has her own story to tell. Then there is Winter, a long-time resident of Remembrance who has powers to wield and battles to fight. But the peace is shattered when white slave catchers begin to penetrate the boundaries, threatening them all. In the present day, Gaelle is an aide at a nursing home in Ohio. Gaelle, who has a special power herself, develops a particular interest in one of her mysterious, elderly patients and discovers that they may have something in common. Multiple plot lines and settings abound; protagonists converge to tell the story, 200 years apart, of strong African-American women battling for liberty against societies determined to hold them back. All the women have some sort of superpower, be it magic or a supernatural gift. The fantasy elements serve to thread the story together, but it at times feels disjointed, and the tale can drag a bit. Still, the concept is original, and Remembrance is an impressive debut from a talented author. Hilary Daninhirsch

CHILDREN & YOUNG ADULT MY LONG LIST OF IMPOSSIBLE THINGS

Michelle Barker, Annick, 2020, $9.95/C$12.95, pb, 350pp, 9781773213644

What would you do to protect your family? Would you lie? Would you let another family die? Sixteen-year-old Katja finds herself wrestling with these and many other questions as the Soviet army forces her family out of their small farm at the end of World War II. Katja has only known one home, her family’s farm in Germany. Throughout the war, Katja’s mother kept her head down and skillfully stretched the family’s resources on the farm. Even after her husband dies, Katja’s mother helps her two young daughters thrive despite their dangerous environment. When the soldiers arrive and force Katja, her sister Hilde, and their mother off their land, the family travels to Fahlhoff to stay with distant relatives. As the family flees with thousands of other German refugees, Katja is shocked by the Soviets’ violence and anger toward them. During the war, Katja was sheltered by her family and encouraged to spend her time perfecting her classical piano skills. As she endures the horrors of the road, she slowly understands the scope of the conflict and the fate of her Jewish friends. This realization sends her on a path to make right her wrongs, but she learns too late that doing the right thing is often deadly for the ones she loves. As Katja struggles to balance morality with survival, she is forced to make impossible choices. Through Katja’s and Hilde’s complex relationship and struggle to survive, the author poses impossible questions about complicity, self-preservation, and loyalty. I highly recommend this book to any teen or adult who wishes to understand what comes before, during, and after terrible violence. Melissa Warren

BLUE SKIES

Anne Bustard, Simon & Schuster, 2020, $17.99, hb, 224pp, 9781534446069

World War II ended more than three years ago, but 10-year-old Glory Bea Bennett’s father still hasn’t come home from the D-Day landing at Omaha Beach. Now the French people are sending a Merci train with gifts for all 48 states (plus DC and Hawaii) to thank the Americans for their war effort and money to rebuild afterward. The train is scheduled to pass through Glory Bea’s small town of Gladiola, Texas, on Valentine’s Day, 1949, and she knows Daddy will be on it. In the meantime, Daddy’s platoon-mate Randall Horton has moved to Texas from New York City and is spending too much time with Mama. And Glory Bea’s best friend Ruby Jane wants her to play matchmaker with neighbor Ben Truman, since Grams is the town matchmaker, but Glory Bea seems to lack her grandmother’s magic. As the date of the train’s arrival nears, Glory

REVIEWS | Issue 92, May 2020

Bea tries ever harder to hold on to her past and her dreams of seeing her father again, even though everyone else wants to move on. The greatest strength of Bustard’s middlegrade novel is its protagonist, whose longing to see her father again is tangible and true. The novel captures life in this small Texas town where everyone knows everyone else and newcomers are welcomed with characteristic charm (as well as a lesson on how to pronounce “pecan”). Seeking to avoid conflict, they indulge Glory Bea in her fantasy, making the ending all the more poignant. Back matter explores the origins of the Merci (Gratitude) Train and the challenges of soldiers like Ben’s father, who experienced PTSD after the war. Lyn Miller-Lachmann

IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN

E.M. Castellan, Feiwel & Friends, 2020, $18.99/ C$25.99, hb, 336pp, 9781250226020

The court of Louis XIV, King of France, is filled with magic, as expected from the young king who is a magicien. Henriette of England has lived in exile in France since she was two. At seventeen, she makes a political marriage to Louis’s younger brother Prince Philippe, Duke of Orléans, a flamboyant dandy who prefers the company of Armand de Gramont to that of his new wife. To ensure her future, Henriette must navigate her own way through the political intrigues of the royal court. Her mother’s admonition to keep her magical skills as a Source, a font of magic, secret becomes essential when court Sources are murdered and their magic stolen by an unknown dark magicien. When Louis is injured, Henriette is forced to reveal her powers to him. He then requests her help. Despite hesitations, Henriette agrees to help defeat the evil threatening his realm and allows him to use her magic to fulfill his vision to rebuild the Palace of Versailles into something magical. Brava! An impressive debut novel that hooked me within the first few pages. Using only historical characters, save one, Castellan creates a fast-paced story of loyalty, love, intrigue, innuendo, magic, and murder. She seamlessly builds a magical world onto one that is already well-documented, giving historical events a new, fun twist. All the characters, particularly Henriette, Philippe, and Armand have depth, making them understandable and relatable. The magic is sparsely described but creates rich details. The dialogue is witty and sharp. Written for readers ages 12 and up. Personally, I’d love to see a sequel. Meg Wiviott

WE ARE NOT FREE

Traci Chee, HMH for Young Readers, 2020, $17.99/C$23.99/£17.99, hb, 400pp, 9780358131434

For two months after Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans lived in uncertain and hostile times. This culminated in the February 1942 issuing of Executive Order 9066 where the U.S. government ordered them into various

camps. We Are Not Free follows the lives of 14 teenagers, mostly from Japantown in San Francisco, as they experience racism, hatred, isolation, confusion, and eventually freedom during the war years. It is told in fourteen distinct voices, from young Minnow—who bookends the novel—whose drawing captures life before the camps, to Frankie (a ball of rage), to Bette who finds the simplest joys in camp life, through Mas and Twitchy who join the Army and fight, for what they aren’t certain. Camp life, from life in the horse stables at Tanforan Assembly Center, to Topaz City in Utah and the racism found beyond the fence, and the isolation camp for the “no-nos” (responses to questions 27 and 28 of the loyalty questionnaire) of Tule Lake, is detailed in rich language and historical backgrounding. Chee sets out to detail every possible emotion that could be found in the camps in this important book, but by giving each character their own chapter, it almost becomes an anthology of emotions, which may make it hard for young readers to connect with each character. But this is a story that forces the reader to look hard at the realities of hatred and racism, and it rips off the band-aid of old wounds and forces the reader to reconsider and reflect. Historical and hand-drawn images help bring the story to life. Though marketed for 12 +, language and violence may be inappropriate for some middle school readers. Bryan Dumas

OVERGROUND RAILROAD

Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome, Holiday House, 2020, $18.99, hb, 40pp, 9780823438730

The award-winning writer/illustrator team (Before She Was Harriet) explores the Depression-era story of the Great Migration in a stunning picture book. “We left in secret before D a d d y ’s b o s s k n e w,” Ruth Ellen explains, harkening b a c k to another dangerous time, that of the Underground Railroad. She carries with her a book from that time a century before: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. She and her parents head north by train, transferring from its segregated compartments until they reach New York City, “bright lights tall buildings shimmering against a sky bright as a hundred North Stars.” Paper collage, graphite, paste pencils, and watercolors complement Ruth Ellen’s story

beautifully as the family moves to start a new life. The page of the Pullman porter taking down the “Whites Only” sign once the car crosses the Mason/Dixon line is especially moving, even as “white folks” put hands in empty seats. The family keeps walking through the car until they find smiles. A tour de force from a writer/illustrator duo that is a national treasure. Highly recommended.

Eileen Charbonneau

THEY WENT LEFT

Monica Hesse, Little Brown, 2020, $17.99, hb, 364pp, 9780316490573

Abek to Zofia. A to Z. When I find you again, we will fill our alphabet. This is what Zofia told her brother Abek just before they lost each other when their family was separated at Auschwitz. But at least Zofia and her little brother Abek were put in the right-hand line. The rest of their family was sent to the left line, to die in the gas chambers. Enduring the ghastly conditions of the camp, always hoping for at least a glimpse of her brother Abek, Zofia survives until the Allies liberate Auschwitz. Her life then becomes a grim set of tasks: surviving freedom and searching for her brother Abek. After 1945, the war’s over, but nothing is simple or easy. For someone like Zofia—who has that most lethal of diseases, hope, and carries that heaviest of weights, a secret— the search for her little brother becomes a torment. Zofia’s life becomes more bearable when she meets the charming, handsome Josef, and hopes to build a future with him. But Josef, too, is concealing a deadly secret. They Went Left is grimly realistic, and the writing is eloquent. From the opening scene to the horrifying, yet hopeful, conclusion, the powerful narrative sweeps the reader along. However, I found the plot twists predictable (I guessed the novel’s biggest secret by about page three). Nevertheless, They Went Left is an excellent novel, illuminating the postwar period for the modern reader. India Edghill

DEVIL DARLING SPY

Matt Killeen, Viking, 2020, $18.99/C$24.99, hb, 480pp, 9780451479259

Killeen’s Orphan Monster series addresses contemporary issues of war, trauma, political resistance, racism, and sexism through the pulse-pounding espionage adventures of Sarah Goldstein, a teenage Jewish spy embroiled in the WWII resistance against Nazi Germany. In the first volume, Orphan Monster Spy, Sarah, trained as an actor and gymnast, attached herself to “The Captain,” a James Bond-like British agent posing as a German industrialist and took on the role of his adorable blond “niece.” Killeen has created a brilliant heroine whose sarcasm and comic-book resourcefulness are balanced by her understandable instinct for self-preservation and some serious moral questions about the value of human life. In the current volume, Sarah travels with her mentor

and protector to the Congo, where there are reports of German missionaries researching a frightening disease for use in Nazi weapons of mass destruction. She also befriends a biracial Senegalese refugee, Clementine, who seems to be an operant herself, and who raises Sarah’s consciousness considerably about the pervasiveness of exploitation and white privilege. Sarah learns the hard way that the Nazis are not the only monsters in the world, as it becomes increasingly difficult for her to know who the “good guys” really are, and which side she’s actually working for. Some of Sarah’s insights seem a bit modern, but teens will appreciate her growing global awareness of the horrors of war and the thrilling episodes of problem-solving and escape, including a nail-biting submarine pursuit. As in the first volume, the violence is graphic though not exploitative, and Sarah’s skills strain credibility occasionally, but this is a series that offers equal parts escapist adventure and morally complex history. Kristen McDermott

CONSPIRACY: The Plot to Kill Hitler, Book One

Andy Marino, Scholastic, 2020, $6.99, pb, 192pp, 9781338359022

Gerta and Max Hoffmann are German children living in Berlin in 1943, where their doctor-father works caring for civilians, including those injured in the frequent and devastating bomb attacks launched by British airplanes. When an injured man arrives on their doorstep with the message that Hitler must be killed, Gerta and Max learn that both of their parents are members of an anti-Nazi group. The children begin to help, performing “dead drops” of falsified identification papers for hidden Jews. When the children are nearly captured on a drop and after an assassination attempt is thwarted, Gerta believes a spy has infiltrated their group. The only way to catch the spy is in action—with Gerta and Max as bait! Marino has written an exciting story, laced with interesting facts about Berlin during the war. I was puzzled by a few things, such as the children being allowed to reject the Hitler Youth, one parent refusing to Heil Hitler, and the other openly mocking their blockwart—a man tasked with weeding out “unpatriotic” citizens. Nevertheless, the plot is engaging and certain to be enjoyed by its intended audience. Author’s notes explain which details were based on fact and offers suggestions for nonfiction accounts of the real plot to kill Hitler. Ages 8-12. Elizabeth Caulfield Felt

THE JEWEL THIEF

Jane Mobley, Viking, 2020, $18.99, hb, 388pp, 9781984837417

For those who love romance novels mixed with a little mystery, The Jewel Thief is an enticing, well researched novel based on the history of the Hope Diamond. Juliette Pitau is the 16-year-old daughter of the King’s crown

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jeweler, Jean Pitau, who enthralled Louis XIV with his ability to cut jewels in unique beautiful designs. The story takes place in 17th-century France and begins as Juliette is in the Bastille prison in Paris, begging for her life as the King knows she has stolen his most precious jewel, a deep blue diamond. Her father was commanded to make the diamond shine like the sun. Unfortunately, Juliette’s father, having never cut a diamond quite like the blue diamond, believes he will fail and ruin his family. Juliette’s father leaves his family to seek and acquire the knowledge of the only jeweler he believes capable of cutting the way the King wants. To help her father, Juliette seeks to learn the trade, and when her father falls into a debilitating depression, Juliette takes it upon herself to cut the stone. As she begs for her life, she is required to recount what happened to the diamond to the man she loves, René, who no longer believes her. She provides her written record in an effort to convince the King that her motives were pure, and to convince René of her love. The writing style is florid but inviting. Lovers of historical teen romance will find much to like about The Jewel Thief. Recommended. Jackie Drohan

WARDENS OF ETERNITY

Courtney Moulton, Blink, 2020, $18.99, hb, 368pp, 9780310767183

At age three, Ziva’s parents abandoned her on the streets of New York. Fifteen years later, in 1939, she struggles to keep her innate magic abilities secret… until she comes face-to-face with a creature from myth: a kriosphinx. During her battle against the otherworldly beast, she’s aided by two strangers with magical abilities. Surprised to encounter people like her, Ziva discovers she is a descendant of Queen Nefertari, Great Royal Wife of Ramesses the Great, and is destined to lead the Order of Medjai to her mummy. Once found and resurrected, Nefertari will usher Egypt into a new age of glory. But the god Set will stop at nothing to prevent the resurrection, and his minions are relentless in their pursuit of Ziva and her new friends. The narrative moves swiftly as Ziva joins the Medjai and searches for the pieces necessary to resurrect Nefertari. I found the magical elements intriguing. That being said, Ziva learns her powers a bit too easily, fighting against gods only a few days after training has begun. Additionally, the references to Ziva appearing as a “true princess” of Amarna feels out of place, particularly as the god Aten has no other relevance to the story. Amarna was Akhenaten’s heretical city, Akhetaten, and while there’s speculation linking Queen Nefertari to his family, Nefertari would have been a great-granddaughter in a time when Amarna/Akhetaten was being erased from memory. Ziva’s journey of discovering herself and growing into her past is the heart of this novel. We search for ancient artifacts and battle Set’s forces through Ziva’s eyes while feeling the empowerment her heritage provides. Wardens of Eternity has a lot of intriguing serial potential. I’d 60

read more to see what culminates between Ziva, the gods, and mortals. Expect some surprise twists at the very end. J. Lynn Else

THE MAGNIFICENT MONSTERS OF CEDAR STREET

Lauren Oliver, HarperCollins, 2020, $16.99, hb, 384pp, 9780062345073

Monsters. Cordelia Clay knows all about them. From diggles to dragons to filches, monsters of all variety stay protected from the residents of Boston and the rest of the outside world by living in the overcrowded Clay household. M o n s t e r s are some of Cordelia’s only friends. Despite living during “Hard Times” in the early 1900s, Cordelia is happy the way things are. Then one day Cordelia wakes up to discover the monsters along with her father are gone. With scarce money and even scarcer clues, Cordelia and new acquaintance Gregory will set out on a quest for answers. She’ll need all of her monster knowledge to track where they’ve gone and what happened the night they disappeared. Oliver’s story explores the construct of monsters in the world. While quite the monster expert, Cordelia has been sheltered from regular society. The people she meets cause her to question the name “monster” given to so many creatures she loves, all because they look and act different from others. She’s accompanied by a few compelling creatures who make things interesting along the journey too. I found the places well-described and the characters enjoyable to get to know. Cordelia’s adventure is anchored by her developing friendships and Oliver’s whimsical writing style. This is highly recommended for fans of magical creatures and daring middle-grade adventure. And don’t worry about feeling lost in a bevy of unfamiliar creatures, either. An abbreviated guide to monsters is included! J. Lynn Else

THE LITTLEST VOYAGEUR

Margi Preus, illus. Cheryl Pilgrim, Margaret Ferguson Books, 2020, $16.99, hb, 176pp, 9780823442478

Jean Pierre Petite Le Rouge has a big name for such a little fellow. He’s a red squirrel raised in the watery wilds near Montreal, Canada, in 1792. He longs to be a Voyageur, one of the rough-and-ready fur traders active from the late seventeenth through the mid nineteenth centuries. Known for their hardy nature

REVIEWS | Issue 92, May 2020

and rousing rowing songs, the Voyageurs canoed the d e s o l a t e waterways, coming together at yearly rendezvous to sell, trade, and rabble-rouse. Le Rouge joins a crew of eight Voyageurs, seven of whom would just as soon cook him up for dinner. One becomes a friend and protects him from the others. As they travel along, Le Rouge tries to help his fellow crew members and manages to muck up things more often than not. This delightful story is filled with wonder and excitement, and the reader is lifted high by Le Rouge’s joys. His horrors are equally powerful, since it soon becomes clear that the Voyageurs harvest furs from many animals during their travels. Most of the book is light-hearted and sprinkled with humor that young readers will enjoy. Historical details are inserted effortlessly along with beautiful descriptions of the scenery. Occasional French words or phrases reminds the reader of the Voyageurs’ culture and practices in an unobtrusive way. The pencil drawings add whimsy as well as bring to life the dense wilderness. Overall, a highly recommended, fastmoving story that will amuse, inform, and entertain young readers. Xina Marie Uhl

RED MENACE

Lois Ruby, Carolrhoda, 2020, $17.99, hb, 224pp, 9781541557499

It’s 1953 in a college town in Kansas, and 13-year-old Marty Rafner and his parents are counting down the days until the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Marty’s parents, both professors, oppose Senator Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare, and Marty (who met the Rosenbergs and their two sons some years earlier), fears he, too, will become an orphan at the hands of the U.S. government. Two FBI agents sit in their car across the street, surveilling his family and that of his nextdoor neighbor and friend, Amy Lynn. Marty used to play basketball and baseball with his best friend Connor, but the baseball coach has kicked Marty off the team, and Connor’s parents won’t let him play with Marty anymore. Then, after she refuses to sign a loyalty oath, Marty’s mother receives a letter. If she can’t produce her parents’ citizenship papers, the government will deport her to Poland. Ruby captures the fear, isolation, and helplessness of people targeted because their beliefs are different from those in power. For most of the book, Marty is an observer as his life becomes more limited and perilous. But when he reaches out to another neighbor, a Korean War veteran suffering from PTSD, and decides

to hunt down his mother’s citizenship papers, he becomes an active participant in his story and someone who can make a difference in his small way. Secondary characters are drawn with complexity and empathy, especially Connor and Luke, the troubled veteran. Letters Marty writes to Mickey Mantle help to set the novel in another era while its events, conflicts, and stakes resonate strongly in the present. Lyn Miller-Lachmann

WELCOME TO BOMBINGHAM Rhonda Lynn Rucker, Pelican, 2019, $14.95, hb, 272pp, 9781455624928

After a bomb kills his mother, teenager Earl B. is raging with pent-up anger, determined someone will pay. He comes across a misplaced list of bombing sites and investigates the addresses to see who might be next, putting himself in repeated danger with the Klansman who lost the list. His personal losses—his father, his mother and his best friend—are far more than any teenager should have to bear, but they aren’t enough to bring this story to life and it’s hard to understand why his house is bombed, since his civil rights father is already missing, courtesy of the Klan. Investment in these characters was hard work. There is unnecessary use of Earl B.’s name where a simple “he” would suffice— sixteen times in a two-page section where he is incarcerated by himself! This disturbs the natural cadence of the prose. After almost killing a man (admittedly a Klansman) Earl B. remains detached, thinking it “isn’t anyone else’s business” and it’s “water under the bridge,” and general reactions to events seem understated and lacking emotional depth. The subject and attendant themes are historically significant, but this novel doesn’t stir the blood as it should. Birmingham, Alabama suffered more than fifty racially motivated bombings from the aftermath of WWII until the 1960s. Rucker explores the origins of the Children’s March of May 2-5, 1963, which thankfully marked a turning point in the violence. A long-time Civil Rights activist, Rucker has also included an extended author’s note, lengthy bibliography, and personal photographs which will entice readers to research further into this worldchanging period of US history. Fiona Alison

28 DAYS David Safier (trans. Helen MacCormac), Feiwel & Friends, 2020, $18.99/ C$25.99, hb, 416pp, 9781250237149

Mira is a smart young Polish Jewish girl

living in the grimy, desperate world of the overcrowded Warsaw Ghetto. Rounded up by the Nazis during World War II, all around her are an estimated 400,000 Jews who are being slowly starved and worked to death, their future uncertain. As this well-plotted novel begins, Mira is a low-level smuggler sneaking out of the ghetto to bring back food. She is followed and captured on the streets of Warsaw by bounty hunters, but a young stranger, Amos, pretends she is his girlfriend and rescues her with a passionate kiss. Mira is drawn to tough, adventurous Amos, who is involved with the resistance inside the ghetto, but she also loves Daniel, an idealistic young pacifist. For most of the book, Mira struggles to survive and help hold together her family, always on the edge of being caught or destroyed. Mira is a believable and likeable young heroine who experiences terrible losses and humiliating ordeals, yet she retains her spirit despite the horror and danger that surround her. In the awful crucible of the Warsaw Ghetto, where so many were sent to their death, she lives out a touching love story, and a story of pluck, courage, and resistance. After members of Mira’s family are murdered and trains begin taking Jews to concentration camps, Mira picks up a weapon to help fight. In this cleanly-written, adventurous, big-hearted YA novel, for 28 days, the reader roots for her to survive. David Drum

TALES OF THE MIGHTY CODE TALKERS Arigon Starr (ed.), Reycraft, 2019, $9.95, pb, 64pp, 9781478868088

Over the last few decades, as multicultural studies have taken on new importance in American society, many previously overlooked contributions to our history by various minorities have come to light. Among these have been stories of the military patriotism exhibited by Native Americans, dating as far back as the American Revolution. This young adult graphic novel, edited by Starr, features the talents of six Native American writers and artists. In varying styles, they tell three stories about the famed code talkers of World Wars I and II, soldiers who used their own native languages to relay messages in codes that were never broken by the enemy. Additional historic information about the code talkers is included after the stories. The code talkers’ heroic stories have been told, belatedly, to adult readers, but this graphic novel may be the first to tell

their stories to a younger audience. Richly illustrated, and with text that sometimes verges on the poetic, the novel should be included in any multicultural library designed for young readers. John Kachuba

ALL THE DAYS PAST, ALL THE DAYS TO COME Mildred D. Taylor, Viking, 2020, $18.99/ C$24.99, hb, 484pp, 9780399257308

This is the sixth, and final, book in the Logan Family series (Song of the Trees, 1975; Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, 1976; Let the Circle Be Unbroken, 1981; The Road to Memphis, 1990; and the prequel The Land, 2001). Readers follow Cassie Logan as she grows from a young college student to a thirty-year-old woman in the 1960s. She falls in love, marries, miscarries, and loses the love of her life. Nearly defeated by grief, Cassie searches for meaning and finds it working for civil rights, especially once tragedy strikes close to home. Her family, characters faithful readers will know, are a constant part of her life. As an adult, she is a successful lawyer, the only Negro in the firm. When she falls in love with a white co-worker, she must face her family’s disapproval. Through the Logan family, Taylor intimately presents historical events: Jim Crow laws, the murders of Emmett Till and Medgar Evers, the desegregation of Ole Miss, as well as the impacts made by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcom X, giving readers a ringside seat to the civil rights movement. Though the changes in time and place are sweeping, they only accentuate the persistent and pervasive racism the characters face. Taylor sets the tone for the novel in the opening scene, and she never holds back. The honesty with which racism is portrayed is painful, though never gratuitous. Readers unfamiliar with the Logan family will be drawn in as if asked to pull up a chair at their table. Written for readers twelve to eighteen, this book will appeal to anyone who read Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry more than forty years ago and anyone who simply wants to read a really good book. Meg Wiviott

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CONFERENCES

The Society organizes biennial conferences in the UK, North America, and Australasia. Contact Richard Lee <richard@historicalnovelsociety.org> (UK), Jenny Quinlan <jennyq@historicaleditorial.com> (North America), or Elisabeth Storrs <contact@hnsa.org.au> (Australasia).

ÂŠ 2020, the Historical Novel Society, ISSN: 1471-7492 | Issue 92, May 2020

A publication of the Historical Novel Society | www.historicalnovelsociety.org